Wilder Wardens
by USA Tiger
Summary: Duncan changes the lives of two young Elves when he offers them places amoung the Gray Wardens. What does life have in store for a young Dalish and Elven Mage as they fight to save their homeland from the Darkspawn. (M/Surana and M/Mahariel)
1. Chapter 1

Wilder Wardens

Author: USA Tiger

Disclaimer: The Dragon Age series is the property of BioWare.

Author Note: Yep, new story. I just recently got into the Dragon Age series, yes I know I'm late to the party, and I've really enjoyed it. This story has started brewing in my head and I'm mostly following the adventures based off my play for the Elf Mage and Dalish story lines plus some original ideas me and my beta came up with.

Speaking of, many thanks goes out to my beta and head minion Asilyessam who not only checked behind me for spelling and grammar but also helped me with the DA lore since she's been playing the games for much, much longer than I have and has also came up with her share of the ideas. So this is sorta her baby too.

I hope everyone will enjoy this ficcy.

Warnings: First and foremost, this story will contain Slash/Yaoi. Not your cup of tea, hit the back button please. Also there will be some very adult chapters here and there but depending on where the chapter is posted, some places will get the 'R' rated version and some the 'NC17' version. Meaning if reading on FF . Net or DeviantART you will not get the whole chapter so you'll have to look for a link on my profile or ask for one depending on where it is. Everywhere else I post will take smut so those sites will get the full chapters. Also, violence cause DA is a bit of a violent game.

Chapter 1

Deep in one of the forest in the Northern most part of Ferelden, a Dalish youth quietly crept amongst the trees. Raziel Mahariel could hear his best friend Tamlen no less than 10 feet away as they hunted for their clan. Raziel loved this part of Ferelden, he loved the quiet woods and to watch the animals that lived within. Tamlen loved to tease the younger Elf saying that if he could Raziel would take shape of one of the creatures, much like their clan's Keeper Marethari was rumored to be able to, and live among the animals he loved so much. Raziel would only laugh and wave his friend off, he would never leave his clan, they were his family for he had been a child of the clan since his mother and father were taken to the Creators in the beyond by Falon'Din around the time of his birth.

Up ahead Raziel could see a young buck grazing the sweet grass that lay between the trees. He sent a silent prayer to Ghilan'nain, thanking her for allowing him to kill one of her beloved animals so he could feed his clan and to Andruil to allow his arrow to make a clean swift kill as he notched his arrow along the string of his bow and aimed at the deer's heart. A sound caught Raziel's attention, the sound of panicked running footsteps along the path in the woods. The deer heard the sound at well, his head snapping up in fright then turning to bound back into the forest. Raziel cursed softly under his breath and wondered who or what had scared the deer.

Quietly running toward the sound, he could hear Tamlen ahead speaking to whoever had been running. Peering around the trees his honey color eyes widened as he saw three humans. What were humans doing in the forest so close to their camp? He quickly notched his arrow again, pointing it at the humans as one said to Tamlen, "Let us by Elf, you have no right to stop us."

"No? We will see about that, won't we?" Tamlen asked as he saw Raziel joining him, both young hunters pointing their bows at the humans, arrows ready to fly. "You're just in time, I found these humans lurking in the bushes. Bandits no doubt."

"We're not bandits I swear! Please don't hurt us," The human male that had told Tamlen and Raziel to let them by told them.

"You Shemlen are pathetic," Tamlen said as he and Raziel stepped closer to the humans, their arrows never wavering. "It's hard to believe you ever drove us from our homeland."

"We've never done anything to you Dalish," another one of the humans said, pushing to the front of the group. "We didn't even know this forest was yours."

"This forest isn't ours fool," Tamlen said. "You've stumbled to close to our camp. You shems are like vermin, we can't trust you not to make mischief. What do you say lethalian? What should we do with them?"

Raziel carefully watched the trio of humans for a moment. They were scared, terrified even and he had a feeling it wasn't them that scared them.

"Let's find out what they're doing here," Raziel said his voice soft.

"Does it matter?" Tamlen asked in disbelief, casting a glance at his friend beside him. Sometimes Raziel was just too nice and soft hearted when it came to dealing with Shemlens. "Hunting or banditry, we'll have to move camp if we let them live."

"L-look, we didn't come here to cause trouble, we just found a cave," the third human in the group said.

"Yes a cave!" The first human quickly agreed. "With ruins like I've never seen! We thought there might be… uh…"

"Treasure?" Tamlen asked with a snort. "So you're more akin to thieves that actual bandits."

"Hmm, I'd like to see these ruins," Raziel said with a slight smile. He didn't quite believe the humans but the idea was a bit exciting. He loved history, it could easily rival his love for animals on any given day.

"So would I," Tamlen agreed. "I never heard of ruins in these parts."

"I-I have proof!" The first human said as he stepped forward and took something out of a pouch on his hip. "Here… we found this just inside the entrance." He handed over what looked like a piece of stone with strange markings on it that look very much like Elven writing. Tamlen lowered his bow to take the stone while Raziel kept his trained on the humans.

"This stone has cravings… is this Elvish?" Tamlen asked quickly noticing what Raziel had seen himself. "Written Elvish?"

"There's more in the ruins!" The human said as he pointed back down the path. "We didn't get very far in though…"

"Why not?" Raziel asked, watching out the corner of his eye as Tamlen pocketed the stone and trained his bow on the group again.

"There was a demon!" The human exclaimed. "It was huge, with black eyes! Thank the Maker we were able to out run it!"

Raziel sneered lightly at the mention of the so-called 'Maker' that the humans and the Elves in the human cities put so much faith in.

"A demon," Tamlen scoffed in disbelief. Raziel didn't blame him. A demon? Here in the forest? It had likely been a bear whose home had been in the cave the humans had disturbed. Shemlens were so easily frightened... and stupid.

"Just off to the west, I think," The human said pointing toward the west. "There's a cave in the rock face and a huge hole just inside."

"Well? Do you trust them?" Tamlen asked Raziel softly. "Shall we let them go?"

"Yes, the Shemlens are too frightened to do anything," Raziel said. "There's no reason to kill them, I doubt they would even want to return to this forest if they believe a 'demon' is here."

"Run along then Shems," Tamlen said with a sigh as both Elves lowered their weapons. "Don't come back until we Dalish have moved on."

"Of course!" The humans quickly agreed already turning tail to run out of the forest as fast as they could. "Thank you! Thank you!" It didn't take long for the three humans to leave their sight, heading eastward likely toward whatever human settlement was nearby.

"Well… shall we see if there is any truth to their story?" Tamlen asked once they were alone once again. "These carvings make me curious." He took out the stone again, running his fingers over the carved words.

"Shouldn't we inform the Keeper?" Raziel asked as he held out his hand for the stone. Tamlen gave him a fond amused smile as he handed the stone over to his eager friend. "This is something she would like to know about if it's true."

"She might be interested in these carvings," Tamlen agreed. "But let's see if there is anything more to it before we get excited. Besides, we're already here."

"I guess you're right, it couldn't hurt to look and see if there really is something there," Raziel agreed after a moment. The idea excited him really, if it was true then they would find a real part of their race's history. More about their past! Tamlen grinned at his clan mate, he knew Raziel couldn't resist the idea.

"Now… they said it was to the west…" The sandy hair elf said as he headed in the westward direction. Raziel sighed softly, running a hand through his black should length locks then looking down at the stone again. Part of him really hoped the humans were telling the truth. "Come on lethalian!" Tamlen called to his friend. Raziel quickly pocketed the stone and raced after the other boy. 

* * *

It didn't take long for Raziel and Tamlen to find the cave. It was ridiculously easy task to track the human's foot prints for the two teenage Elves through the forest, only having to stop once or twice to fight off wolves that had attacked them. Raziel didn't like it, wolves didn't usually attack for no reason unless you threatened their territory and usually let the Dalish pass through without any problems. It saddened the youth to have to kill the beautiful creatures.

As they approached the cave Raziel saw that is just as the humans had described it, a cave within the face of the rock with a hole in the back, big enough to walk through. He shivered at he stared at the cave, something about this place made his skin crawl.

"This must be the cave," Tamlen said as they stopped just outside of it. "I don't recall seeing this before, do you?"

"No and that worries me Tamlen," Raziel said. Their clan camped in this forest every year around this time. As children he, Tamlen and their other friend Fenarel had explored and played all over the woods and as adults had hunted. Never once had Raziel remembered seeing this cave, he was sure he would remember. "We should be wary."

"Always the careful one," Tamlen said with a sigh.

"One of us has to be," Raziel said. Tamlen had always been the more impulsive one out of the two of them and Raziel's careful nature often balanced his friend out.

"Fine, but I'm not running back until I know there's something worth making a fuss over," Tamlen said. "Come on, let's at least see what's here. How dangerous could it be?"

"You said the same thing about the nest of stingers when we were children," Raziel pointed out. "Just be careful lethalian," he added, shivering again slightly as he looked at the cave again. "Something about this place makes my skin crawl. Something here scared those Shemlens and I'm starting to think it was no bear or wolf."

"You don't really believe there are demons in this cave do you?" Tamlen asked.

"I don't know," Raziel said with a shake of his head. "But Creators I hope not."

"We'll be fine," Tamlen said as he headed inside. "You're just letting the Shemlens' words get to you." Raziel sighed softly and followed Tamlen inside, keeping a tight hold on his bow.

Once inside Raziel looked around in amazement, the sheer wonder of the place was enough to make him forget for a moment that something about the ruins made him uneasy. A giddy grin crossed his lips as he eagerly looked around; here he was in a place the Elves of old had been in once. He thought of all the history that maybe they could find in this place. Tamlen watched Raziel in fond amusement, feeling the same excitement as his clan mate. Still… he was also starting to feel a bit of the uneasiness that Raziel had felt, like there was something there just on the edge of his senses.

Further in the ruins the pair of Elves was attacked by a horde of giant spiders, quickly cutting off any excitement that Raziel had about the place as he quickly planted as many arrows in the spiders, taking them down one by one. But as soon as he saw one sneaking up on Tamlen he abandoned his bow and quickly drew the twin daggers off his back.

"Tamlen!" He cried in warning, whirling into an attack that almost appeared to be a deadly dance as he twisted and twirled, his blades flying in a deadly flashes, flourishes, and whirls. Tamlen quickly moved out of the way, drawing a sword of his own to fend off the spiders at Raziel's back. Soon the eight-legged menaces were dead all around them, the two Dalish breathing heavily.

"I've never seen spiders so large before," Tamlen said as he nudged one of the spiders with his foot.

"Tamlen maybe we should leave and come back with other hunters," Raziel said.

"We're fine lethalian," Tamlen said soothingly. "These weren't too hard to defeat on our own. These must be what scared the Shemlens. Come on, let's keep exploring." Raziel sighed softly, nothing he said seem to convince Tamlen to return to the camp. All he could do was follow and hope to keep his best friend safe.

Further in the ruins the two hunters killed out many of the giant spiders while exploring the rooms. In one corridor they came across a statue that Raziel remembered seeing in the books their clan's Keeper had.

"I can't believe this. You recognize this statue, don't you?" Tamlen asked with soft awe in his voice. Raziel couldn't blame him; he was in awe as well. This was more than Elven writing on a piece of stone, this was a real part of history right in front of them.

"Yes, it's worn but it's vaguely familiar," Raziel said as he reached up to touch the statue.

"Back when our people lived in Arlathan, statues like these honored the Creators," Tamlen said. "When the Shems enslaved us, much of that lore was lost."

"I know, I can't believe we're seeing this with our own eyes," Raziel breathed. He couldn't tell which of the Creators the statue was to represent, all markings that would identify it had worn off a long time ago.

"This place looks like human architecture," Tamlen said with a frown as he looked around the room they were in. "With a statue of our people. Can these ruins date back to the time of Arlathan?"

"But we are nowhere near Arlathan," Raziel said with a frown of his own.

"We must of lived in other places, too," Tamlen said glancing back at the statue again. "Even if the elves didn't live here, its architect knew of our gods."

"But why would humans build a place like this and why would they put place anything of our gods here?" Raziel asked.

"I don't know lethalian," Tamlen said with a shake of his head. "Come on, let's go further in. Maybe we'll find more clues to this mystery." 

* * *

The further Raziel traveled into the ruins, the more the uneasy feeling washed over him. By this time Tamlen started to feel it as well, much greater than he had near the start of the ruins.

"This place makes me nervous," Tamlen said softly, his eyes shifting around at the shadows.

"It makes me nervous as well," Raziel agreed. "Talk, maybe it will calm us down."

"I suppose so…" Tamlen agreed as he stopped and turned to his friend. "Hey, weren't you supposed to be assisting Master Varathorn today? How did you end up coming with me?"

"You know me," Raziel said as he gave his friend a grin. "I get away from the camp whenever I can."

"I've never known anyone so eager to wander," Tamlen said with a shake of his head. "I bet you'll end up a flat ear someday, living in the cities like a shem."

"Hold your tongue," Raziel said with a laugh. "You know I would never do that, I simply… like to wander the forests. Tamlen… why did you want to come down here so badly?"

"Aren't you curious?" Tamlen asked. "We could be discovering our history, Minstrels will write songs about us! Of course knowing you, just finding our history is enough for you lethalian." Raziel blushed softly, he couldn't help it. He had always had a passion for history. As a child and even now he constantly begged the clan's story teller Paivel for any story about their peoples' past. Still…

"You aren't fooling me, Tamlen," Raziel scolded softly. "You've never had a head for this sort of thing."

"Alright, if I were to bring some valuable ancestral artifact back to the Keeper, she might forgive me for… well you know," the other Elven youth confessed.

"You get into far too much trouble, Tamlen," Raziel said with a sigh.

"And you get into far too little," Tamlen said. "Which is probably why the keeper sent you with me. At any rate, I wasn't expecting this place to… feel quite like this. Maybe this wasn't the best idea."

"I tried to get you to turn back and return to camp," Raziel said. "What do you think all this is?"

"I'm not sure. This place looks like a very old human place. Why did they build this? And why would Elven artifacts be here?" Tamlen asked. Raziel wondered that himself, he had been excited at first but as Tamlen said, it was clear that humans had built this place not Elves. So why all the artifacts that belonged to their people and not humans. "Maybe some of our ancestors lived here, in caves like dwarves."

"That is a horrible thing to think of," Raziel said. He couldn't live underground. He needed the sky above him and the green grass under his feet. He needed to feel the wind on his face, the sun warming his skin on a warm spring day. Living in a cave… just didn't sit right with him.

"I stick to roaming the land myself," Tamlen agreed.

"This place… it doesn't feel like anyone's home," Raziel said. There had been nothing here that suggested anyone lived here at all.

"I don't know… I have this cold sensation that we've… disturbed something," Tamlen said. "Like we just walked into a dragon's lair."

"We better not run into any dragons here Tamlen," Raziel muttered, wondering if somehow his friend had jinxed them. It would just be their luck that this place ended up housing a dragon. "Maybe… the elves here were slaves."

"The Keeper said it took a long time for slavery to erase our ancestors history," Tamlen slowly agreed, the idea was possible. "Maybe whoever lived here still wrote and spoke Elven."

"Do you think the Keeper will want to come here?" Raziel asked.

"She takes any opportunity to gather Elven lore," Tamlen pointed out. "When the clans come together, they exchange whatever they found. She shouldn't come without hunters to guard her though. The air here feels so… sinister."

Raziel shivered slightly, yes he could feel it too. He really wished he had talked Tamlen into going back to their camp instead of following the other here.

"Well, whatever it is, it… it won't stop me," Tamlen said trying to force bravery into his voice. "A Dalish hunter fears nothing!" Raziel sighed and shook his head, his friend was so hard headed sometimes.

"Tamlen, how did you know all about the statue?" Raziel asked.

"I saw a picture of it in one of those old books the Keeper never lets anyone touch," Tamlen said. Raziel nodded slowly, it had been the same place where he had seen the statues. "It was one of the old gods. The Keeper called him a 'Friend of the Dead'."

"Maybe this isn't a place where Elves lived then," Raziel suggested. "Perhaps this place is instead a tomb."

"An Elven tomb built by shems? I doubt it," Tamlen said discarding the idea. "It's said that the old ones never truly died, they just when somewhere else and… slept forever. And this god would come to guide their spirits away. But he wasn't an evil god, not like Fen'Harel – the Great Wolf. It doesn't seem right that a place so… wrong… would be his."

"You mean Falon'Din?" Raziel said as he tilted his head to the side. Death was a common thing to their people now; long ago they had been immortal seeing the world pass by in but a second, at least that is what Raziel had always heard. Then the Shemlens, the Quick-blood, the humans came and enslaved their ancestors, the long life that the Elves had came to an end. It was common knowledge at life was short and could be cruel at times. Raziel had lost both his parents, his father to bandits before he was born and his mother to a broken heart having left to die after his birth. As such, he had grown up as a child of the clan watched over by everyone as children were considered the Dalish's greatest treasure, even more so than collecting the knowledge of their past. He knew of course the adults of their clan had strived to keep what happen to his Mother and Father away from him but late one night when he couldn't fall asleep he had heard them speaking of it, they did not wish for his heart to be filled with sorrow and hate for those who killed his Father. Falon'Din was the Creation God of Death, twin brother to Dirthamen the keeper of secrets.

"I'm not surprise you remember the name," Tamlen said in a fond tone. "Come on, let's keep going. I will feel better if we kept moving." Raziel quickly agreed and fell into step next to his best friend as they walked away.

Raziel found a surprising number of traps the further in to the ruins that they went. He had training to detect and even disarm the traps, often nearby humans would leave traps in the wood to either capture animals or even at times a Dalish who was not careful. He remembered nearly being caught by one as a child, a leg trap that had nearly taken off his leg. If Tamlen, who had been with him at the time, hadn't pulled him away from the trap in time… As such Raziel trained as a rouge, it also gave him some skill at picking locks.

The most surprising and terrifying thing happen when he and Tamlen were deep in the ruins, they found a pair of skeletons littering the floor of a corridor near a metal door. It was impossible to tell if the bones belong to a Human or an Elf and Raziel had wondered why they were there. While disarming a gas trap in front of the door the skeletons came to life, attack the two Elven youths. Raziel had shouted in surprise as he quickly drew his daggers and defended himself against the undead creature, panting heavily when the possessed bones fell to the ground.

"Creators!" Raziel exclaimed as he started at the skeleton he had been fighting.

"Were those walking corpses!?" Tamlen asked just as frightened as his friend. "This place is haunted!"

"Tamlen can we please leave?" Raziel begged. "I don't want to stay here anymore, I want to leave, and return to the camp. We should tell the Keeper about this place, let them send the more experienced hunters."

"It's alright lethalian," Tamlen said as he grasped the other's shoulder. He was still shaken up a bit by the experience himself but now that the adrenaline was dying down he realized the skeletons hadn't been all that much harder than the spiders from before. "Look, let's just see what's behind the door. We'll take a look and then leave the ruins alright."

Raziel really didn't want to stay, he wanted to leave this horrible place and go back to the safety and love of his clan. But in the end he bit his lip and nodded his head, following Tamlen to the door keeping a death grip on his daggers.

The chamber beyond the door Raziel barely had time to look at before something roared and came charging at them from the corner of the room. Raziel gave a frightened yelp and quickly slashed the creature across the face with his dagger. Tamlen quickly jumped to the defense of his friend, driving it back enough to give Raziel room to work. The Dalish Elves quickly attacked in concert, sword and daggers flying as it cut into the creature. It roared in pain and anger, swiping a great paw at Tamlen and catching him in the chest. Luckily Tamlen's Dalish armor was able to take the blow leaving him mostly unhurt as he was knocked onto his back. The breath was knocked out of him, leaving Tamlen stunned and open to attack.

"NO!" Raziel yelled as he quickly moved in front of the creature, driving his daggers into either side of its neck. It gave one last pained roar then collapsed on the ground in a heap. Raziel shook as he withdrew his daggers, stumbling backward from the creature that attacked them.

"Raziel," Tamlen said as he quickly caught his friend as Raziel's legs gave out from under him. "Raziel, you save my life."

"I-I couldn't," Raziel was shaking as he stared at the creature. It was a bear but unlike any bear Raziel had seen before. It was covered in bone like spikes all over its body. It was unreal and he wondered where in the name of the Creators the thing had come from. "W-what was that thing?"

"I don't know," Tamlen said as he helped the other to stand, wiping the blood off of Raziel's daggers against the course fur of the strange bear then placing them both in the scabbards on his friend's back. "But it's dead now thanks to you, it won't be able to hurt anyone else."

"Tamlen can we please leave?" Raziel whispered. Tamlen sighed and rubbed the other's arms. He was shaken up by what happen as well, he had nearly died. If it hadn't been from Raziel's quick actions… He sighed again and looked around the chamber. There was a large tree root growing down from the trees on top of the ruins and dais in the middle of the room, before he could tell Raziel that yes they could finally leave something caught his attention.

"What is that?" Tamlen said catching Raziel's attention. He turned his head to look in the same direction, seeing a mirror in the middle of the dais. It was taller than either of them, the glass a silvery blue color and on either side stood a statue, a small set of stairs at the base leading up to the mirror. Tamlen left Raziel's side, walking toward the mirror. Raziel shivered as he looked at it, it made his skin crawl. "It's beautiful, it's it? I wonder what the writing says."

"I don't care what it says," Raziel said as he followed Tamlen. "We should leave, we can tell the Keeper about it if we have to but let's just go."

"It's just a mirror lethalian," Tamlen said. "I wonder what this writing is for? Maybe this isn't – hey, did you see that?"

"See what?" Raziel asked he hadn't been paying attention to the mirror. He didn't even want to really look at it but glanced over anyway.

"I think something moved inside the mirror," Tamlen said as he stepped closer.

"Get away from it, Tamlen," Raziel said in a panicked voice seeing his friend go near that thing.

"Hold on, I just want to know what it is," Tamlen said as he peered at the glass. Raziel cast a quick look at the glass, grabbing at Tamlen's arm as something rippled on the glass. "Don't you see it? There it is again! Can't you feel that? I think it knows we're here. I just need to take a closer look…"

"Wait, don't Tamlen!" Raziel said as he tightened his grip on his friend's arm. Tamlen gently shook the other teen off and stepped up to the mirror, looking into the glass. Raziel glanced at it again, he couldn't even see either his or Tamlen's reflection in the thing.

"It's… showing me places. I can see… some kind of city… underground?" Tamlen said softly as he tried to make sense of what he was seeing, reaching up to touch the mirror, the surface making a ripple under his hand. "And… there's a great blackness…"

"Tamlen stop touching it and get away!" Raziel pleaded. More and more ripples were appearing on the mirror now.

"It… it saw me!" Tamlen yelled panicked. "Help! I can't look away!" Raziel rushed forward, grabbing Tamlen's arm again to pull his friend away from the mirror. But a bright flash of light exploded from the mirror, slamming into Raziel and throwing him off the stairs. His whole body felt like it was on fire and he screamed loudly in pain. Then everything went black and Raziel knew no more. 

* * *

Hours later outside of the ruins, a body collapsed outside on the ground in a painful heap. It laid there, gasping for air with each pain filled gasp, honey toned eyes unseeing as it stared in the night sky. This was how Duncan found young Raziel a few minutes later, kneeling down next to the youth to check on him.

Duncan was an older man, one whom you could tell had a hard life by looking at him. A strong man, Duncan's skin was dark from days spent out in the sun. His face was covered by a neatly trimmed beard and his shoulder length hair was pulled back into a tail. He wore a silver suit of armor and had many weapons on his person.

Duncan was a Gray Warden, a select group of people from all races and walks of life such as Human, Elf and Dwarf that fought against a monstrous race known as the Darkspawn. Like all Gray Wardens, Duncan was able to sense when the creatures were nearby and had detected a large gathering of them recently. It lead him here to this cave where he had found Raziel. He quickly checked the boy over, noticing right away the boy had been tainted by Darkspawn blood, and if something wasn't done for him soon Raziel would surely died.

"Can you hear me?" Duncan asked. The Dalish youth only moaned softly in pain, his vision already going black again. As he did, he heard the man say, "I am… very sorry."

Acting quickly, Duncan picked up Raziel, slinging him across his shoulder and walking quickly in the direction of where he knew the Dalish camp to be. If he acted quickly then the taint could be slowed down enough for the boy to survive for several more days. Hopefully he would be able to help the boy overcome the poisonous taint in his blood… though it would mean a much harder life for him in the end. 

* * *

Raziel groaned as he came too, slowly sitting up with a hand pressed to his forehead. He looked around confused for a moment, he was no longer within the ruins. In fact he was within the aravel he had called home for all his life.

_'How… how did I get here?'_ He wondered. He slowly climbed off of his bed, locating his armor against the wall and dressing. Grabbing his daggers and his bow and arrows, Raziel stepped out into the morning light, looking around the camp. He rubbed his forehead in confusion and a little bit of pain. What had happen?

Look around again Raziel spotted his friend Fenarel several feet away, calling the other Elf's name as he walked toward him.

"You're awake!" Fenarel said as he quickly turned to face Raziel, relieved to see his young friend up and about again. "You've the gods' own luck, lethalian. You're back at camp. Everyone is worried sick about you. How do you feel?"

"Groggy," Raziel said. "And worried. Where is Tamlen? How did I get here Fenarel?"

"We don't know," Fenarel said with a small shake of his head. "The shem who brought you here saw no sign of him."

"A human brought me back?" Raziel asked with a small frown. He very vaguely remembered something about a man standing over him but he wasn't sure if that was a dream or not.

"A shem brought you back two days ago. You don't remember him?" Fenarel asked.

"I… remember being in a cave with Tamlen," Raziel said as he reached up to rub his forehead again. "Beyond that I really don't remember anything. Tamlen and I encountered a group of humans beforehand but we let them go."

"I doubt these humans had anything to do with this one," Fenarel said. "He was a Gray Warden and appeared out of nowhere with you slung over his shoulder. You were delirious with fever. He said that he found you outside a cave in the forest, unconscious and alone."

"A Gray Warden?" Raziel asked softly with a frown. "Where is he now?"

"He left you here and ran off again," his friend told him. "The Keeper's been using the old magic to heal you."

"Has anyone looked for Tamlen?" Raziel asked, remembering what happen back in the cave. About the mirror and how it seem to draw his best friend in.

"The hunters are out looking for him. I just wish the shem told us where that cave was, the hunters are looking for it now," Fenarel said. "But the Keeper wanted to talk to you as soon as you awake. Stay here, I'll get her." The blond Elf turned and quickly walked away leaving Raziel alone.

Raziel bit his lip, he was worried about Tamlen. He couldn't remember much of anything after they found the mirror and now no one knew where his friend was. Oh why in the name of the Creators hadn't he forced Tamlen to leave those ruins as soon as he started to feel uneasy? Raziel started to pace his mind filled with worry for his dear friend.

This was how the Keeper of his clan Marethari found him a few minutes later.

"I see you are awake, da'len," Marethari said as she walked up. Raziel stopped his pacing to face the clan's Keeper. "It is fortunate Duncan found you when he did…"

"Keeper, do you know what was wrong with me? Fenarel said I was sick when I was brought back," Raziel asked.

"I know not what dark power held you, but it nearly bled the life from you," Marethari informed him. Raziel sucked in a breath, just how sick had he been? "It was difficult even for my magic to keep you alive."

"Could… could Tamlen be sick as well?" Raziel asked worried, they had both been in that ruins. Whatever that mirror was it had to be the cause of his sickness.

"If he encountered the same thing you did, yes," Marethari told him. Raziel closed his eyes, oh Creators please let Tamlen be alright… "The Gray Warden said he found you alone outside a cave, already stricken. Duncan thought there may have been Darkspawn creatures inside the caves is that true?"

"No, not that I remember," Raziel said with a small shake of his head. "Tamlen and I encountered a colony of giant spiders and a strange bear but I do not remember any Darkspawn. Keeper… we encounter a strange mirror within the cave."

"A mirror? And it caused all this?" Marethari asked. "I have never heard of such a thing in all the lore we have collected."

"Tamlen touched the mirror and he claims he saw something on the other side," Raziel said. "I don't remember much after that, only a bright flash of light then… nothing." Marethari sighed and turned to look out over the camp, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I was hoping for answers when you woke, but there are only more questions," she said in disappointment and worry. "And Tamlen remains missing. He is more important that any lore in the ruins. If he is as sick as you were, he condition is grave."

Raziel sucked in a soft breath at the words. He felt like he failed his dear friend, following Tamlen around in the ruins instead of getting him to leave then leaving him there in the ruins.

"Duncan returned to the cave to search for Darkspawn, but we cannot rely on him to look for Tamlen as well!" The Keeper said, just as sick with worry as Raziel. "We must go ourselves, and quickly."

"I believe I can find the cave again Keeper," Raziel said. "I can lead the way."

"Do you feel well enough to do this, da'len?" Marethari asked as she faced Raziel again.

"Yes, I feel fine now," Raziel assured her and he did. The small headache he had when he first woke up was gone now and he felt nothing of the pain from before.

"I am relieved to hear it," Marethari said with a small smile. "I am ordering the clan to pack the camp so we can go north. Take Merrill with you to the cave. Find Tamlen if you can, but do it swiftly."

"Of course Keeper," Raziel said. "We shall search for Tamlen quickly. I just hope he is alright."

"I wish for Merrill to see this cave and mirror," Marethari said. "She has a sense for these things, and could shed light on the nature of this illness."

"I will not let you down Keeper," Raziel promised. "But are you not worried Merrill will become ill as well?"

"You recovered," Marethari said," and Merrill will too. Still, be careful… should you come upon this strange mirror again, do not touch it." Raziel shuddered as he remembered the mirror.

"You do not have to worry about that, I would never touch that thing," Raziel said softly.

"Go swiftly da'len and be careful," Marethari said.

"Pray for us Keeper," Raziel said softly as he turned and quickly walked off to find Merrill. The sooner they found the cave the sooner they could look for Tamlen. He remembered tales of the Darkspawn and of the Blights. He knew why the camp was leaving, they had to get away if another blight was coming. He did not wish to leave Tamlen behind and could only pray that his friend was still alive and hadn't been taken by Falon'Din.

Raziel set out at once to find Merrill, the sooner they left to find the cave the sooner they could look for Tamlen.

"Raziel!" Fenarel called when he saw the dark Elf walking past his aravel. "Is the Keeper sending you back to the cave to look for Tamlen?"

"Yes, I am to go with Merrill to look," Raziel said with a nod.

"I want to go with you," Fenarel said. "Keeper Marethari probably won't approve, but I can help find Tamlen." Raziel bit his lip briefly, his first thought was to tell Fenarel that he shouldn't come. The blond Elf was his friend as well, as much has Tamlen was, and he would break his heart of Fenarel was to get sick as well or Creator's forbid, drawn in by the mirror as Tamlen had. But Tamlen had been Fenarel's friend as well, the other Elf had to be just as worried for their missing clan mate. And an extra pair of eyes could be a good thing.

"We can ask her," Raziel said at last. "If we plead our case I'm sure she would be grateful for you to come along with us." Fenarel gave him a grateful smile, he did not want to be left behind worrying about his two young friends. Raziel returned the smile with a soft one of his own and motioned for his friend to follow him back to where their Keeper was waiting.

"I see you have not left with Merrill yet," Marethari said as they approached.

"Keeper, Fenarel wishes to go us," Raziel said. Marethari frowned slightly, she did not wish to put more of her de'lans into danger but if Fenarel wished it…

"Fenarel, are you certain? I am already putting Merrill at risk; I don't want to lose you as too," the elderly Elf said, worry and concern in her voice.

"I want to help Keeper," Fenarel pleaded. "If we can find Tamlen, it's worth the risk."

"Very well then," Marethari said with a soft sigh giving in. "You have my permission. And thank you for asking for it." The two Elven teens bowed, grateful that she was allowing Fenarel to help then quickly left to find Merrill.

Merrill waited at the edge of camp for them, turning as soon as she heard their footsteps.

"The Keeper told me I'm to accompany you back to those caves," Merrill said. "As her apprentice, I may see something you missed. But our main objective is to find Tamlen, of course. We should make haste, we may not have much time."

"Fenarel is coming with us," Raziel said as he adjusted his bow. "You have no objections to this do you?"

"That depends on the Keeper," Merrill said in a confused tone. "I thought we're supposed to go alone."

"Keeper Marethari gave me permission to come," Fenarel said. "I want to help find Tamlen." Raziel nodded his head in agreement.

"That's good enough for me," Merrill said. "Shall we go then?" 

* * *

"How much did the Keeper tell you?" Raziel asked as they walked along the path toward the cave.

"Enough to pique my interest… and my concern," Merrill said. "What happen in the cave?"

"Nothing at first, there is a colony of giant spiders so we should keep on our toes," Raziel warned his two friends. "We found a statue of Falon'Din and a few other artifacts much not much else. But when we reached in innermost part of the ruins we were attacked by the walking death."

"The walking dead?" Fenarel asked worried.

"Yes, I pleaded with Tamlen to return to the camp but he convinced me to see what was behind the door… I shouldn't have allowed him to sway me, I should have convinced him to return to camp with me," Raziel said his head bowed in sorrow.

"It is alright lethalian, you didn't know this would happen," Fenarel said in comfort. Raziel gave him a small smile, but he still felt like this was his fault.

"What happened then?" Merrill asked once Raziel pulled himself back together.

"We were attacked by a strange bear," Raziel said with a frown.

"How strange?" Merrill asked.

"It was covered with bone-like spikes," he explained. "I had never seen anything like it. Tamlen then noticed the mirror and had been drawn to it. I attempted to get him to leave but he wouldn't listen and had touched it. He said he saw an underground city on the other side and some sort of blackness. Then there was a bright flash of light and the next thing I really remember is waking up back at the camp." Merrill frowned as she turned Raziel's tale over in her mind, wondering what it all meant.

The three young Dalish were startled out of their thoughts as an arrow suddenly embedded itself in the ground in front of Raziel's feet.

"We're being attacked!" He said as he quickly spotted their foes. It was unlike anything he had seen before, the creature attacking them were vile looking and had waves of pure evilness and darkness pouring off them. He and Fenarel quickly notched their arrows and let them fly, hitting their target quickly while Merrill quickly cast a small back of magic at another one.

Both creatures went down quickly and the trio of Elves carefully approached the bodies.

"What were those things?" Merrill asked as she stared at the body at her feet. "Were those Darkspawn?"

"I-I don't know," Raziel said with a shake of his head. "But it must be, the Keeper said the hoards were starting to attack."

"We must keep on our toes," Fenarel said. "There may be more out here."

"I've never seen anything like them!" Merrill said. "You can smell the evil on them. Where did they come from? Where they here before?"

"No, we saw nothing like these creatures on the path or the cave," Raziel said. "Maybe… maybe the mirror had something to do with it."

"What would Darkspawn have to do with our people?" Merrill asked confused by the whole thing. "The stories say Arlathan fell long before the Darkspawn appeared." She sighed and looked down at the Darkspawn at their feet. "Well, we'll find out soon enough. Let's hope we don't find any more of these monsters."

"We can hope but I have a feel this isn't the last of them," Raziel said. Fenarel echoed the feeling, he swore he could feel the eyes of something dark and evil watching them.

"Before we go, are you alright?" Merrill asked as she looked closely at Raziel. "Were you hurt during the fight?"

"I feel fine," Raziel asked confused. "Why do you ask?"

"You… do look quite pale, now that Merrill's mentioned it," Fenarel said as he took the time to look his younger friend over. Raziel's never had dark skin but his normally sun-kissed tone was now much lighter that it usually was. He was worried that Raziel may still be sick from whatever had affected him before.

"I… feel fine," Raziel said softly as he looked from Fenarel to Merrill, he really did. He ached a tiny by but he had been thrown around by whatever had happen to the mirror and really sick for two days, it was nothing he couldn't recover from.

"Well, I'll keep an eye on you," Merrill decided. "You've only just recovered from your illness. But let's not think of that now. We should move on." The two male Elves quickly agreed, they both wanted out of this forest as it was no longer safe.

Down the path Raziel let out a little distressed noise as they came across the body of a Halla, kneeling down next to it.

"It's dead," He said softly, gently running his hand over the graceful neck.

"The Darkspawn must of killed it," Fenarel said as he watched Raziel mourn over the deer-like creature. The Halla were friends of the Dalish, they often pulled their Landships across the land when they moved camp and sometimes they even rode the creatures, if the Halla let them that is. The Halla was also the creation of the Creator Ghilan'nain, of whom Raziel had her mark upon his face.

"Come lethalian, there is nothing else we can do for the Halla," Merrill said as she pulled Raziel to his feet. Raziel gave the poor Halla one last look then started down the path again, the other two following. Further down, close to the cave, they came across a fire pit, the coals long since cold.

"I wonder who's camp this is," Merrill asked as they surrounded the fire pit. "Do you remember it being here?"

"No, this wasn't here the first time we came through," Raziel said with a shake of his head. "Maybe it belongs to the Shemlen who found me."

"You're probably right, did he say he was headed back to the cave?" Merrill asked.

"That is what Keeper Marethari said," Fenarel said.

"If this is his camp, he's not here now," Merrill said. "And we've seen no sign of Tamlen. Maybe we should…" she stopped suddenly and held up her hand. "Wait… do you hear that?"

Raziel blinked and tilted his head to the side to try and hear what Merrill heard. But he quickly realized he heard nothing. Not the birds in the trees, not the deer or Halla within the woods, not the sound of paws hitting the ground from a wolf or a fox.

"It's too quiet," He said softly. "It's as if the creatures of the forest have disappeared."

"Exactly, the forest is too… still. Something's in the air… something unnatural," Merrill said with a frown. Raziel sucked in a breath at the words.

"Tamlen said the same thing when we were inside the ruins," He said. And she was right, he got the same feeling here that he did when he and his friend were exploring the cave.

"And now it's affecting the forest?" Merrill said, she didn't like this at all. "Maybe that mirror unleashed some kind of sickness. That would not be good."

"That's an understatement," Fenarel said with a nervous laugh. He was feeling the same thing the other two were, it sent chills down his back. Merrill nodded in agreement and turned to Raziel.

"The sooner we find this cave, and Tamlen, the sooner we can leave. Take us there quickly," She said.

"It's not much further, just around the bend," Raziel assured them. The three Dalish youths took off at a run, wanting to get this over with. They did find another small group of Darkspawn along the path, quickly cutting them down and Merrill gently healing any wounds they acquired from the fight. She was very worried about Raziel, he still looked very pale and she was sure she saw his hands shake a little bit as she healed him. But the younger Elf said nothing and she didn't press the issue.

As they came upon the ruins Raziel shuddered slightly. That feeling of wrongness was even stronger than before, he did not wish to return to this place but they needed to find Tamlen. Inside they found many dead giant spiders and even already slain Darkspawn.

"So these are the ruins? Interesting," Merrill said as she peered around. "There are definitely of human origin. Yet Elven artifacts are scattered amongst them. Nothing explains the monsters, though."

"Only the spiders were here before, Tamlen and I didn't see these Darkspawn," Raziel said as he nudged one with his foot.

"We must find Tamlen – or what's left of him," Merrill said. Raziel closed his eyes briefly in pain at the very thought and prayed that Tamlen was still alive. He couldn't bare the thought that his friend was…

"Don't talk like that," Raziel said in a whisper, he had to have hope Tamlen was still alive.

"You're right," Merrill quickly agreed, she couldn't bare the idea that Tamlen was dead either. "We should explore farther before I go on about my fears. I'm sorry." Raziel nodded, he understood why she would have said this, Tamlen would have had the same sickness as him but untreated. With these Darkspawn around… it was starting to paint a very grim picture indeed.

Raziel lead the way through the ruins, finding more and more bodies of dead Darkspawn and a few alive ones as well. He abandoned his bow and arrows in favor of his daggers as he attacked on Darkspawn while Fenarel attacked another, leaving Merrill to cover them both with her spells. He also found several traps, laid out by the Darkspawn no doubt as they hadn't been there the first time, that he quickly disarmed before anyone got hurt.

It seem to take no time at all to reach the chamber with the mirror. As Raziel stood in front of the door he shook slightly, what would they find behind it? Tamlen's dead body? Creators he hoped not. Finally gathering up his courage he opened the door, his breath catching in his throat as he saw that blasted mirror.

In front of the mirror stood a man and as they approached he turned to face them. Raziel found himself have a vague memory of seeing his face before and realized this must be the human who found him in the forest.

"So you were the one fighting Darkspawn," Duncan said as he looked the trio of Elves over. "I thought I heard combat." He came closer to the group, stopping in front of Raziel. "You're the Elf I found wondering the forest, aren't you? I'm surprised you have recovered."

"If you heard the fighting, why didn't you help?" Raziel asked.

"I had a feeling you and your friends could handle it," Duncan said. "My name is Duncan, and it's a pleasure to finally meet you. The last time we spoke, you were barely conscious."

"I… thank you for taking me back to my camp," Raziel said.

"It was my duty to return you to your clan, your people have always been allies with the Gray Wardens," Duncan said. Raziel nodded, still grateful to the man for his help.

"Andaran atish'an, Duncan of the Gray Wardens," Merrill said with a small bow. "I am Merrill, the Keeper's apprentice."

"My name is Raziel," Raziel said softly.

"And I am Fenarel," Fenarel introduced himself. "Did you… come here alone, human? Battling all those creatures?"

"Yes. Though I must admit, you took a great deal of pressure off me," Duncan said then turned to look at Raziel. "Your Keeper did not send you after me, did she? I told her I would be in no danger."

"No, w-we came here to find our clan brother Tamlen," Raziel said with a shake of his head. "This is where he and I were separated."

"So you and your friend Tamlen both entered this cave?" Duncan asked for clarification. "And you saw this mirror?"

"Yes," Raziel said with a short nod. "Tamlen touched the mirror, he said he saw something on the other side. Then a light seem to explode from the surface and I blacked out."

"The Gray Wardens have seen artifacts like this mirror before: it is Tevinter in origin, used for communication. Over time some of them simply… break," Duncan explained. "They become filled with the same taint as the Darkspawn. Tamlen's touch must of released it…" Raziel closed his honey color eyes, his heart searing in pain. He should have stopped Tamlen from touching the mirror, he knew there was something wrong with it when he saw it. "It's what made you sick – and Tamlen, too, I presume."

"S-so the Darkspawn was what was making me sick?" Raziel asked. "I had some sort of Darkspawn plague?"

"You have it still," Duncan informed him, Raziel's breath catching in his throat at the words. "And it will infect others so long as this mirror exists. Your recovery is only temporary. I can sense the sickness in you, and it is spreading. Look inside yourself and you will see."

Raziel opened his mouth, he wanted to deny Duncan's words, insist that he was fine but he quickly snapped his mouth shut. The human was right, he knew deep down he was still sick. He had a faint ache inside him that didn't want to go away. He knew his hands shook at times and he couldn't deny what Duncan said was true. He hung his head, if he was still sick even after the Keeper healing him, then Tamlen who had been left untreated all this time….

"Tamlen is dead isn't he?" He asked softly. Fenarel sucked in a breath beside him at the words and Merrill laid a hand on his shoulder.

"I am sorry," Duncan said, truly meaning it.

"Wait, shouldn't there be a body then?" Fenarel asked.

"The Darkspawn would have taken it," Duncan told the Elf. Raziel gave a little sob, they didn't even have a body to bury. He felt this was all his fault, he should have demanded he and Tamlen return to the camp as soon as he sensed something was wrong instead of going along with his friend. "For now, we must deal with the mirror… it is a danger."

"Destroy it," Raziel said in a broken whisper. "Before it makes anyone else sick." Duncan nodded and turned, drawing one of his blades as he walked up to the mirror. Raziel watched numbly as Duncan struck the mirror with the blade of his sword, the mirror flashing brightly as it shattered and fell to the ground in many pieces. Duncan stood there for a moment, having heard the sound of Darkspawn speaking for a brief second, then turned away.

"It is done," Duncan said as he walked back to the others. "Now, let's leave this cursed place. I must speak with the Keeper immediately regarding your cure." Raziel could only nod his head in a numb fashion, he was still reeling from the knowledge of Tamlen's death and still felt as if it was his fault his dear friend was dead.

"Can we return later and search through the ruins? We could learn many things here besides the mirror," Merrill asked. Raziel wanted to curse, he wanted nothing to do with anything in this place. It could burn to the ground for all he cared. No amount of history or knowledge of their race could make up for losing his friend.

"The cave is not safe – everything here was exposed to the mirror's taint. If your people must come here, they should cleanse it with fire," Duncan advised.

"Can we just go?" Raziel asked softly. Duncan nodded and left the young Dalish walk out in front of him. Fenarel wrapped his arm around Raziel's shoulders, trying to offer comfort to his young friend as they left. 

* * *

"I'm relieved you have returned!" Marethari said as she saw the group enter the camp. She noticed right away that Tamlen was not with them and that Raziel was deeply saddened, his honey colored eyes red with tears. She also noticed that the three youths did not come back alone. "And I did not expect to see you again so soon, Duncan."

"I was not expecting to return so soon either, Keeper," Duncan said.

"Dare I ask of Tamlen?" Marethari asked as she turned to face Raziel. "What did you find of him?"

"Tamlen is dead," Raziel whispered. "There wasn't even a body to bring back, the Darkspawn took him."

"There… there were Darkspawn in the cave?" Marethari asked taken aback, worry in her voice.

"There is much to discuss, Keeper," Duncan said drawing attention back to himself. "I have learned a great deal since I was last here."

"Let us speak privately within my aravel then, Duncan," Marethari said, knowing she wasn't going to like what Duncan had to say. "Merrill, warn the hunters. If Darkspawn are about, I want the clan prepared."

"Ma nuvenin, Keeper. Right away," Merrill said with a nod as she left to do so.

"Da'len, allow me some time to speak with Duncan," Marethari said to Raziel next. "Seek us out at my aravel later, and we can discuss your cure."

"Ma nuvenin, Keeper," Raziel agreed.

"Tell Hahren Paivel what has occurred," Marethari said, her da'len needed closure with Tamlen's death. "He now has the sad task of preparing a service for the dead. Follow me, Duncan. I am eager to hear what you have to say." She motioned for the human to follow her, taking him back to her wagon. Raziel watched them go then took a shuddering breath, he couldn't believe Tamlen was dead. There would be no more days of banter between them, no more hunting for the clan, trying to keep him out of trouble… Raziel bit his lip, willing himself not to start crying again and turned to seek out the clan's story teller.

Paivel was found by one of the many pyres within the camp near his wagon.

"So you return with the Gray Warden, but without Tamlen," Paivel said as Raziel walked up. "What happened, da'len? Is he truly lost to us?"

"Yes, Tamlen's spirit is in the hands of Falon'Din now," Raziel said.

"So… another of our children has perished. To think I'd live to see this…" Paivel said sadly. "It seems the will of the Creators that I sing the dirge for those I held in my arms as babes. I think I know why our immortal ancestors would sleep."

Raziel watched a Paivel moved to stand in front of the pyre, staring at the flames.

"Swiftly do stars burn a path across the sky, hast'ning to place one last kiss upon your eye. Tenderly land enfolds you in slumber, softening the rolling thunder. Dagger now sheathed, bow no longer tense. During this your last hour, only silence," Paivel recited softly and sadly before turning back to Raziel.

"Would you prepare a service for Tamlen, please?" Raziel asked.

"Of course," Paivel assured the youth gently. "We've no body to return to the soil, but we shall still sing for Tamlen. The Creators must come to guide him to the Beyond. Tell the Keeper it shall be done before the clan is ready to move on."

"Thank you Hahren, I will," Raziel promised and started to turn to leave.

"I ask only one thing, if I may," Paivel's voice stopped the teen. Raziel looked over his shoulder giving him a questioning look. "This… Gray Warden. You have met him now, yes? Is he a good man?"

"I…" Raziel opened his mouth to answer then fell quiet thinking it over. "He saved my life, and is a friend to the clan." He said after a few seconds.

"Interesting. What is it he talks to the Keeper about, I wonder?" Paivel said as he mused over Raziel's answer. "Perhaps you should go and ask."

"I will, the Keeper asked me to join them after I spoke to you," Raziel said.

"Of course. May the gods guide your path, da'len," Paivel said. Raziel gave him a small smile and a nod then headed toward Marethari's wagon.

* * *

Meanwhile….

"What is it you wished to discuss with me Duncan?" Marethari asked once they were outside her wagon.

"The mirror young Tamlen and Raziel found was filled with Darkspawn taint," Duncan said. "That is what Raziel is sick with and what killed his young friend."

"I see…" Marethari said in sorrow. "And the Darkspawn themselves?"

"They are starting to amass in the south," Duncan confirmed. "I believe this is a true blight though we have yet to see the Archdemon."

"What can be done for Raziel?" Marethari said after a few moments of silence.

"There is… not real cure for Darkspawn taint," Duncan said. "The only way to save his life… is if he joins the Gray Wardens."

"The Gray Wardens?" Marethari repeated. "Are you sure? Raziel is a kind soul, I do not know if he has it in him to truly fight."

"War changes us all Keeper," Duncan said. "I am recruiting for the Gray Wardens, we need them if this is a true blight as I fear. This is the only way to save the boy's life, otherwise the taint will kill him soon."

Marethari sighed and closed her eyes, this was almost too much. First they lost Tamlen and now Raziel would have to leave the clan. And once he left, it was doubtful Raziel would ever return. But he would _live_ at least.

"I also believe the boy is very capable of fighting off the Darkspawn, he and his friends killed many while in the ruins," Duncan added. Marethari sighed again, yes Raziel was quiet good with his blades and with his arrows, he was one of the best young hunters within the clan.

"Then I give permission for Raziel to leave with you and join the Gray Wardens," She said at last.

A few minutes later they saw Raziel walking toward them, his head bowed and arms wrapped around himself. Duncan could see what Marethari meant, the young Dalish had a certain amount of innocents about him and he hated he would have to bring that innocents to an end.

"Your Keeper and I have spoken," Duncan said as Raziel stopped in front of them," and we've come to an arrangement that concerns you."

"What do you mean?" Raziel asked.

"My order is in need of help. You are in need of a cure. When I leave, I hope you will join me," Duncan explained. "You would make an excellent Gray Warden."

"A Gray Warden? Me?" Raziel asked confused. "Why? How will that cure me?"

"The Darkspawn taint courses through your veins," Duncan said. "That you recovered at all is remarkable. But eventually, the taint will sicken and kill you, or worse. The Gray Wardens can prevent that, but it means joining us." Raziel's mouth open and closed for a few seconds before he found his voice.

"W-will I be able to return to my clan?" He asked.

"We do not know," Marethari said softly. "But we could not watch you suffer. The Gray Warden offers you a way to survive."

"This isn't simply charity on my part," Duncan assured Raziel. "I would not offer this if I did not think you had the markings of a Gray Warden. Let me be clear; you will likely never return here. We go to fight the Darkspawn, a battle that will take us far from your clan. But we need you and others like you.

Raziel licked his lips nervously and swallowed, his mouth suddenly feeling very dry. He would admit, he did not wish to leave his clan. They were his only family and he had never been without them. But… if he did not go he would died a painful death and perhaps if he went… he could prevent another tragedy like Tamlen's death.

"A great army of Darkspawn gathers in the south. A new blight threatens the land. We cannot outrun this storm. Long ago, the Dalish agreed to aid the Gray Wardens against a blight should that day arrive. We must honor that agreement. It breaks my heart to send you away," Marethari said. "As it would to watch you die slowly from this sickness. This is your duty, and your salvation."

"I will do you proud Keeper," Raziel promised then turned to Duncan. "I am honored by your offer Duncan, I will go with you if you will have me."

"I welcome you to the order," Duncan said as he crossed his arms over his chest and bowed slightly in respect. "It is rare to have a Dalish amongst us, but they have always served with distinction."

"I know you'll do your clan proud, da'len," Marethari said as she removed a ring from her finger that bore Elvish writing along the band. "Take this ring. It is your heritage and will protect you against the darkness to come." She took Raziel's hand within her own and gently pressed the ring into his palm.

"Thank you Keeper," Raziel said his voice thick with emotions.

"A valuable gift," Duncan agreed. "So… are you ready to go?"

"I… can I stay for Tamlen's funeral at least?" Raziel asked as he slid the ring onto his finger.

"We have much ground to cover, but I cannot deny you that," Duncan said. From what he could see, Raziel and this Tamlen had been close, and Raziel may never return to his clan and family. He could not deny the youth his closure for his friend's death. "Say your farewells… then we must be off."

"Thank you Duncan," Raziel said softly.

"Come then, da'len," Marethari said as she placed her hand on Raziel's back to guide him. "Before the Creators guide you from us, let your clan embrace you one last time."

* * *

Tamlen's funeral lasted only a short time, with no body to return to the soil the clan's voices joined as one as they sang the Elvish Eulogy for their fallen clan mate, for Falon'Din to guide him to the Beyond. Raziel hoped Tamlen's spirit did not blame him for his death and was at peace.

Afterward all of the members of the small Dalish clan gathered around the entrance of the camp to see off Raziel, many of them gently touching him on the arm as he passed. Fenarel pulled his young friend into a hug and reminded him to stay strong. All of them were sad to see the young sweet Dalish leave but knew this was his only chance of avoiding a painful death. At the entrance of the camp, Raziel stopped one last time, looking back at his clan, his family then turned and left with Duncan for the final time.

Both were quite as they traveled through the forest, Raziel's head bow.

"Where are we going?" He asked at last.

"We shall meet up with the rest of the army in the ruins of Ostagar, on the edges of the Korcari Wilds," Duncan explained. "But first I would like to stop at the Tower of Magi located on Lake Calenhan."

"Why?" Raziel asked.

"I am hoping to convince the Circle of Magi to lend us more mages for the battle," Duncan explained. "That is if that stubborn fool Greagoir will see reason." He added under his breath. Raziel gave him a curious look but said nothing else. He wondered what sort of things he would see now, out there in the wide world.


	2. Chapter 2

Wilder Wardens

Author: USA Tiger

Disclaimer: The Dragon Age series is the property of BioWare.

Author Note: Speaking of, many thanks goes out to my beta and head minion Asilyessam who not only checked behind me for spelling and grammar but also helped me with the DA lore since she's been playing the games for much, much longer than I have and has also came up with her share of the ideas.

Chapter 2

The halls of the Tower of Magi were always quiet at night. No mages or apprentices running around studying magic or learning how to wield the power they were born with. At this time of night the only people awake were elder mages, up reading this book or that scroll on the many types of magic. Also up where the night shift of the Knights of the Templar, men and women, mostly men, who guarded the tower and surveyed the mages who lived in the tower with them. Many of the mages feared the Templars, with good reason as one could be dragged for questioning for any little thing at any time and that's if they were lucky.

Currently walking the halls was a not so unusual sight, a Templar lead a young apprentice mage toward the upper levels of the tower, toward the top. The youth was male with long silvery white hair pulled back into a braid and crystal blue eyes that would glare every now and then at the back of the knight in front of him. His most striking features were his pointed ears, displaying his strong Elven blood, and the unusual markings on his face. Mages typically didn't have tattoos so Atreyu Surana's facial markings would make people who had not seen them before pause.

The area around his eyes were black, bringing out the blue color, with small wisp-like lines breaking away and curving over his cheeks. Two sets of three curved lines marked his forehead, giving him a bit of a fierce look when he happened to be glaring your way. Some people would even mistake the markings for Dalish markings, though Atreyu was no Dalish elf. If asked, he would only say the tattoos are for his own reasons and to keep their nose out of it. The only person who may know what Atreyu's tattoos were for was his best friend Jowan and even then it was possible the human mage didn't know much.

Atreyu's thoughts were interrupted as the knight led him up a set up stairs on the highest point of the tower. He had never been this high up, no one came up here for no reason. Not unless one was about to go through their Harrowing. A test all apprentice mages must go through to become a full mage and apart of the circle. Atreyu had began to worry that the Templars wouldn't allow him to go through his Harrowing, he wasn't very popular since he tended to cause trouble every now and then. His mentor, the First Enchanter Irving, had assured Atreyu many times he would have his Harrowing soon, so he was very glad that the knight had finally come for him.

At the top of the tower waited Irving and the Knight-Commander Greagoir who commanded the Templars within the tower. As Atreyu approached, Greagoir stepped forward, quoting a saying from the Chantry.

"_'Magic exists to serve man, and never to rule over him.'_ Thus spoke the prophet Andreste as she cast down the Tevinter Imperium, ruled by mages who had brought the world to the edge of ruin," Greagoir said, Atreyu had to fight not to roll his eyes. He had this 'Marker' crap shoved down his throat since the day he was bright to the tower when he was 9 years old. He never believed it, his family had worshiped something much different and even to this day that was what the Elf chose to believe. Of course he wasn't stupid enough to ever say anything inside the tower, wisely choosing instead to play lip-service everything the Chantry and the other followers of the Marker attempted to brainwash him with.

"You magic is a gift, but it's also a curse, for demons of the dream realm – the Fade – are drawn to you, and seek to use you as a gateway into this world," Greagoir continued.

"This is why the Harrowing exist," Irving added, coming up to stand next to his most promising student. The elderly mage had fought with Greagoir many times over the last few weeks to allow Atreyu to go through the Harrowing. He had great confidence that the boy would pass and with flying colors. While Atreyu was far from the strongest mage within the tower, the young Elf had always had a gift for magic, one Irving had help to nurture. "The ritual sends you into the Fade, and there you will face a demon, armed with only your will."

"I'm ready to face the Fade and its demon," Atreyu said, his voice an even tenor.

"Know this apprentice: if you fail, we Templars will perform our duty," Greagoir said seriously. "You will die."

"I don't plan on failing," Atreyu said with a cocky tone, a smirk on his lips. Greagoir glared at the Elven Mage, this was why he disliked the boy, Atreyu was far too cocky at times.

"This is lyrium; the very essence of magic and your gateway into the Fade," Greagoir said as he waved his hand in the direction of a pedestal with a shallow basin on top. Inside a glowing green liquid sat, humming with the power of magic.

"The Harrowing is a secret out of necessity, child," Irving added softly, Atreyu quickly turning to face his mentor. "Every mage must go through this trial by fire. As we succeeded, so shall you. Keep your wits about you and remember the Fade is a realm of dreams. The spirits may rule it, but your own will is real."

"Right, got it. Don't trust anything in the fade but myself," Atreyu said with a nod, causing an amused smile to cross Irving's face, he quite enjoyed Atreyu's sharp tongue unlike his Templar counterpart.

"The apprentice must go through this test alone, First Enchanter," Greagoir butted in not liking the elderly mage giving the Elf advice. Atreyu narrowed his eyes as he turned to face Greagoir, a hard glint within the gaze. "You are ready."

"I've been ready for this for a long time," Atreyu said under his breath as he walked toward the pedestal. He could feel the stares of all the Templars in the room on him, ready to slice his head off if it appeared that a demon had taken him over. Atreyu gazed down into the basin, where the lyruim in liquid form laid waiting. He reached out and touched the lyruim, watching as it seemed to curl around his hand, then plunged his hand fully inside. To Atreyu there seem to be a bright flash of light then nothing…

* * *

"So, they send another victim to our realm," a large Pride demon rumbled in amused tone. "An Elf at that. Hmmm… Elven souls are quite tasty." A few feet in front of him, Atreyu's body had appeared in the Fade. The mortals in the waking world offer the souls of their apprentices here for testing to see if they could resist the demons within. Pride loved to toy with them, making himself appear as a human mage stuck in the Fade that was able to take on a rat form and call himself 'Mouse'. It was much like a game, one he enjoyed far too much at times. After he 'helped' his meal defeat the minor Rage demon in the area, Pride would devoir the mage's soul then send one of the lesser demons to process the body left behind. Why in the Fade would he leave when the mortals on the other side were so willing to feed him?

Not to say there weren't a mage or two that escaped, every now and then a mage came along whose willpower was enough to resist his attempts. He let those go, it was no big loss after all, and another soul always came along soon after.

"This one is mine," a woman's voice said from behind him.

"And what makes you think I will let you have this mortal?" Pride said as he turned to face the demon behind him. The Desire demon smirked as she lightly traced her fingers over her stomach.

"This one is too strong for you," She said. "You won't be able to overcome his pride. But I can see into his dreams, I can see his desire, he want to go home. I can use that to capture his soul." Pride gave a grumbling growl as he too looked into the Elf's dreams, the desire to leave the tower and return to his home _was_ strong. If Desire played her cards right, she could easily entrap the Elf in no time.

"Fine then, this meal is yours," he surrendered, fading into the shadows. Desire looked at Atreyu with hunger, his soul was bright and would make a very tasty meal. She could not wait.

* * *

Atreyu groaned as 'woke up', rubbing his head as he slowly stood and took in his surroundings. Who knew going into the Fade like this was so painful. Luckily the pain was already fading.

"So this is the Fade," Atreyu said as he looked around. It… wasn't quite what he expected. The landscape was strange looking with large trees that didn't look right and hills that seem to go nowhere and strange looking statues and monuments scattered everywhere. The 'sky' looked yellow and in the distance he could see floating islands. "Lovely place but I doubt I'll be building a summer home here anytime soon. Now where is this demon?"

Atreyu could only see one path to take and took off down it at a light jog. He hated these damn mage robes, they were a pain in the ass to run in. After encountering a ball of wispy light that shot a ball of lightening at him, Atreyu quickly figured out how to use his spells within the Fade as he flung back his own spell at the wisp.

"Not too hard," Atreyu said to himself as he summoned a small ball of fire to dance around his fingers then closed his hand to cancel the spell. Spells seemed to work the same in the Fade as they did in the waking world, or at least that was how it seemed.

"Another child of magic thrown to the wolves, fresh and unprepared for the horrors here," A male voice said suddenly. Atreyu stopped and looked around then down to see a… fox? "It isn't right that they do this, the Templars."

"A talking fox, well that's a new one in my book," Atreyu said.

"You think you're really here? In that body?" The fox asked with laughter in his voice. "You look like that because you _think_ you do!"

"So you think you look like a fox?" Atreyu asked with a raised eyebrow.

"A fox is useful in a place like this," The fox said. Suddenly the fox glowed, causing Atreyu to lift a hand to block the light until it died now. Now, standing in the place the talking fox had been, was an Elf wearing a soft leather tunic and pants with long black hair. Atreyu's eyebrows raised in surprise, the other Elf appeared to be someone from one of the clans. "Allow me to welcome you to the fade. You can call me… well, Fox," the Elf shrugged his shoulders slightly.

"Fox," Atreyu repeated dryly. "Yes, very original. But that isn't your real name is it?"

"No," The Elf said with a shake of his head. "I don't remember much from… before. My body was found by the Templars while I Fade walked, they assumed I was lost to the demons here and simply… did away with me. With no body to return to, I am stuck here. Other children of magic here claim that if you take too long, the Templars will do the same to them." That… explanation didn't make much sense to Atreyu, the man claimed he didn't remember anything from before, not his name or anything, yet he remembered the Templars and how he died. You couldn't have it both ways. And he had never heard of 'Fade walking' either.

"That's not going to happen to me," Atreyu said with an unconcerned wave of his hand. "I'm not going to let myself get trapped here."

"That has been said before," Fox said. "But you don't know the danger. There's something here, contained, just for an apprentice like you. You have to face the creature, a demon, and resist it, if you can."

"Yeah I know," Atreyu said as he crossed his arms over his chest. "That's the whole point of this test isn't it?"

"That's your way out. Or your opponent's, if the Templars wouldn't kill you," Fox continued, giving Atreyu an annoyed look when the other Elf had interrupted him. "A test for you, a tease for the creatures of the Fade."

"Oh I doubt it's as simple as that," Atreyu said. "Anything can die, even demons."

"You would be a fool to attack everything you see," Fox said. "What you face is powerful, cunning. There are others here, other spirits. They will tell you more, maybe help. If you can believe anything you see."

"You're being… awful helpful," Atreyu said as he narrowed his eyes, he didn't believe Fox's story, something was off about it. But for now he didn't have any proof that the other Elf was anything but what he appeared.

"I only want to help another one of my clan out, I do not wish to see you trapped here as I am," Fox said with a shrug of his shoulders. "I shall follow you, if that is alright."

"Knock yourself out," Atreyu said with a shrug of his shoulders as he walked past Fox, he was wasting time talking to the so-called Elven man when he could be hunting for this demon. He heard a flash of magic behind him and wasn't surprised when he looked back to see Fox in his fox form again. Further down the path Atreyu came across an area that was covered in flames, Fox warning him that was where the demon he was to fight was located.

Atreyu narrowed his eyes a bit as he slowed down, Fox sounded almost eager for him to enter the area though he said it in a way to warn Atreyu off… and it seemed too easy to find the demon. The way Irving and Greagoir talked, finding the demon would be extremely hard, if it was this easy to find the demon a lot more apprentices would have passed the Harrowing. No, whatever was there he may have to fight but he was going to look around more first.

It was wandering around a bit more, fighting off little wisps, that he found another spirit within the Fade. This was one must different from Fox, the figure looked like a Templar Knight, but his own body glowed with a golden light.

"Another mortal thrown into the flames and left to burn, I see," The figure said as Atreyu approached. The spirit's voice had an echoing quality to it the Elf noticed, this was no simple spirit. "You mages have devised a cowardly test. Better to you pitted against each other to prove you mettle with skill, than to be unarmed against a demon."

"Oh I agree with you," Atreyu said. "But it's the Templars that insist on this test, not the mages."

"Indeed," The glowing knight said. Atreyu wondered if the spirit was really a Templar or if it just appeared that way to him since he never saw any other types of knights. "You are not the first sent here for such testing. Nor shall you be the last, I suspect. That you remain means you have not yet defeated your hunter. I wish you a glorious battle to come."

"Thanks," Atreyu said then looked at the knight with curiosity then at all the weapons that floated nearby in the air. "Just what are you anyway? What's with all the weapons?"

"I am a spirit of Valor. The weapons are brought into being by my will, I understand that in your world, mages are the only ones who can will things into being," The spirit explained. Atreyu suppose that was true but only the elder mages knew how. "Those mortals who cannot must lead such hallow, empty lives."

"You said brought into being by your will," Atreyu said. "So you what… think the weapon up and it's here? Could a weapon like that affect the demon?"

"Without a doubt. In this realm, everything that exists is the expression of a thought," The spirit agreed. Atreyu hummed softly to himself, Fox had said he looked like his normal self as that was how he saw himself and the spirit said any weapon could be brought into being by a thought and enough will power. "Do you think these blades be steel? The staves be wood? Do you believe they draw blood? A weapon is a single need for battle, and my will makes that need a reality."

_'The Fade is the realm of dreams, I'm pretty much lucid dreaming here,'_ Atreyu puzzled out in his mind. _'So if I want a weapon….'_ He held out his hand, thinking of a staff, keeping a very clear image in his mind. There was a flash of light and suddenly a weight of a solid wooden staff that looked like it came from a tree was in Atreyu's hand.

"Bravo my good sir!" The spirit said impressed. Not many mortals figured this trick out on their own and he was impressed this mage had. "I wish you great victory against your foes."

"Thanks," Atreyu said with a salute of his own as he turned and walked away. Several feet away the Desire demon that was Fox watched the mage closely, the Elf had figured out the Fade much quicker than any of the other mages brought here before. Usually the spirit had to guide the mages through the process, if they even made it this far. "Are you coming or not?"

"Yes yes," The fox shaped Elf answered as he followed after the youth.

Atreyu still didn't trust the fox shaped Elf, something was off about the spirit, something that made his gut churn. A growling noise caught Atreyu's attention, in front of him stood a small group of glowing spirit wolves, and they were licking their chops as they stared down at Fox.

"They may think you're lunch," Atreyu pointed out amused. Fox yipped in alarm and ran to hide under Atreyu's robes, nearly tripping the youth. "Hey! You better not be peeking a look under there, I don't give free shows!"

A wolf growled and snarled as it approached Atreyu who sighed and quickly cast an ice spell to freeze it into place then a bolt of Arcane magic to shatter it. Two more appeared in the wolf's place and taken care of just as quickly, Atreyu laughing as each one disappeared. All this seemed way too easy which was a cause of concern to Atreyu. He always heard how hard this test was, many of the young mages who took the Harrowing never passed it yet so far the test was a bit of a breeze. Something more was going on here, he could feel it.

"Alright, get out from under there," Atreyu said as he stepped away from the cowering Fox. "Don't hide under my robes next time, if you're going to be a coward go hide someplace else."

"My apologies," Fox said, Atreyu didn't think he sounded all that sorry at all. What sort of Elf hid from wolves anyway, foxes weren't helpless after all. He turned and walked away again with Fox on his heels. "Careful, there's a another spirit just ahead," Fox whispered.

"That's a spirit?" Atreyu asked. He could see the form up ahead, it looked a lot like a bear… if said bear had a child with a porcupine that is. It didn't glow either like the Valor Spirit had.

"Hmm… so you are the mortal being hunted?" The spirit said as Atreyu approached. The bear like creature sounded very bored and sleepy. "And the small one… is he to be a snack for me?"

"Yeah I'm starting to think this isn't a spirit," Atreyu said down to Fox. Fox merely snorted and changed into his Elf form in a flash of light.

"I don't like this," Fox said. "We should go, he's not going to help us."

"No matter," The spirit said with a sniff as he lumber to his feet. "The demon will get you eventually, and perhaps there will even be scraps left."

"Why is everyone assuming that the demon is going to defeat _me_?" Atreyu muttered under his breath. "Why wait for scraps? Come on, I'll take you on," He said louder, reaching up to grip his staff.

"Why bother? You'll just run away," The spirit said with a mighty yawn, mouth open wide to show of rows of razor sharp teeth. "I'll not waste time with a chase, not even for a meal." A tick started to thump on Atreyu's forehead, he wondered if a blast to the face would change this thing's mind. "Begone! Surely you have better things to do that bother Sloth, mortal. I tire of you already." Sloth left himself fall back into the ground in a lazy heap.

"Sloth?" Atreyu repeated then turned to Fox, Sloth was type of demon that lived inside the Fade. "That's a demon not a spirit! How the hell can't you tell the difference if you've been here for so long?"

"Spirit or demon, they are the same here in the Fade, child of magic," Fox said in a soft tone before speaking louder to the demon. "He needs help defeating a demon."

"I can speak for myself and I don't need his help," Atreyu hissed at Fox.

"You have a very nice staff," Sloth mused with another yawn. "Why would you need me? Go, use your weapon on the demon. Be valorous."

"I don't need you," Atreyu muttered to himself. "I'm already stuck with this coward…"

"He looks powerful," Fox mused. "It might be possible that he could… teach you to be like him." Atreyu raised an eyebrow, he did have a high interest in shape shifting, he wasn't going to lie. He always had since he was a little kid even but he had a feeling learning to be a bear thing from a demon wouldn't help him at all in the waking world.

"Like me?" Sloth asked amused as he listened in. "You mean teach the mortal to take this form? Why? Most mortals are too attached to their forms to learn the change." Atreyu crossed his arms over his chest, the demon didn't know him very well then. Not that he wanted to learn how to shape shift from a demon. "You, on the other hand, little one, might be a better student. You let go of your mortal form years ago."

"I… do not think I would make a very good bear," Fox said. "I would be unable to hide in that form."

"So what?" Atreyu asked. "Bears are a hell of a lot bigger than a fox, you could just fight whatever is coming after you. Those claws would do some serious damage. Don't be so afraid all the time, it's an embarrassment to Elves everywhere!"

"I have faced more in this place that you can imagine, child of magic," Fox said. "It is not fear, it is being smart."

"Yeah that's a coward's excuse," Atreyu taunted with a smirk. "Are you sure you shouldn't have been a mouse or something?" Fox sighed and rubbed his forehead.

"You are right, hiding doesn't help," he said. "I am sorry, the Fade changes you…" he took a deep breath and turned to face Sloth. "I'll try then spirit, I'll try to be a bear if you will teach me." Inside Desire cackled with glee, she was such a good actor. The little Elf mortal was a pain in the ass but that would make eating his soul so much sweeter.

"That's nice," Sloth said as he settled down to sleep. "But teaching is _so_ exhausting. Away with you now."

"I told you he wasn't going to help us child," Fox said in a disappointed tone.

"Hey! You're the one that offered to teach him how to change his shape into a bear," Atreyu snapped at Sloth. "You can't just dangle an offer like that then change your mind." Sloth sighed and lifted his head to look at Fox.

"You wish to learn my form, little one?" He asked. "Then I have a challenge for your friend. Answer three riddles correctly, and I will teach you. Fail, and I will devour you both. The decision is yours." Atreyu groaned softly as he heard the word 'riddles'. He hated riddles, that was one of Jowan's favorite pastimes when he was bored. Sadly Jowan asked him enough riddles that Atreyu had gotten quite good at them.

"Fine, ask your riddles so we can get this over with," he said with a sigh. The riddles, it turned out, were so easy that Atreyu wondered why the bear shaped Sloth even bothered? Even Jowan could give harder riddles as the Elf answered with Map, Tongue and Dreams to each.

"Hemf… fine," Sloth said as he slowly lumbered to his feet once again. "I shall teach the fox how to become a bear. Now listen closely."

Atreyu walked a few feet away and leaned against one of the strange trees that dotted the land, watching as Fox was taught by the demon how to shift into a different animal shape. This whole thing felt wrong to him, Fox put him on edge. He might look like an Elf, one that might even come from the same clan he did at one time, but something told Atreyu this wasn't the case. Call it a gut feeling as it were, though Atreyu liked to think it was his magic warning him, something was off about Fox. If the Elf could shape change into a fox or even a bear… who's to stay an Elf was his real form.

"Did I do it? Am I a… bear?" Fox asked as he suddenly changed with a flash of light.

"You look more like a bear that he does," Atreyu said as he walked back over, pointing at Sloth with his thumb.

"It feels… heavy," Fox said as he lifted his front paws, testing out how he could move.

"Hmm… close enough," Sloth said. "Go then, and defeat your demon… or whatever you intend to do. I grow weary of your mortal prattling." The demon yawned loudly and laid back down as Atreyu turned on his feel and walked away.

"Finally, let's go now that you're useful," Atreyu said to Fox over his shoulder. He heard hear the bear shaped Elf behind him. The new bear form turned out to be very useful as they were attacked by another small pack of Spirit Wolves. Atreyu watched out of the corner of his eye as Fox destroyed the spirits with no problem. Fox even gave a gleeful laugh as he destroyed the wolves that had wanted to eat him in his other form. Atreyu shook his head slightly as he continued back down the path. His eyes focused on something floating in the distance.

Islands dotted the strange yellow sky, the one that caught Atreyu's attention appeared to have a city on it. He shivered slightly, he read about the Fade of course, or what little information that allowed to the apprentices anyway. And the Templars and Chantry were happy to tell the Mages in the tower how a group of foolish magic users had tried to enter the city of their beloved maker and were cursed, bringing the first blight and Darkspawn back with them. Atreyu wondered if the city he could see was the same from the tales? He didn't know, he didn't put any stock on the tales of the Maker and such but there was something within this realm….

Atreyu shook his head to clear his thoughts, now wasn't the time to think about any of that. He had a demon to beat and a creepy Fade to get out of. He entered the area Fox pointed out before, watching as a fiery demon rose from the flames.

"And so it comes to me at last," The demon said in a deep gravelly voice. "Soon I shall see the land of the living with your eyes, creature. You shall be mine, body and soul."

"Yeah, that's not going to happen," Atreyu said as he quickly drew his staff and held it at ready. "This body and soul are _mine_ and _mine_ alone! Come and get me demon!"

"Oh, I shall," The demon said then turned to Fox. "So this creature is your offering, Fox? Another plaything, as per our arrangement?"

"Arrangement?" Atreyu repeated with a raised eyebrow, looking at Fox out of the corner of his eye as the bear changed back into an Elf. "And just what sort of 'arrangement' would that be?"

"I offer you nothing demon!" Fox said with a shake of his head. "I don't have to help you anymore!"

"Oh, you and I are going to have _such_ words after this," Atreyu said under his breath.

"Awww," The demon said in a pouty voice then laughed. "And after all those wonderful meals we shared? Now suddenly the mousey fox has changed the rules?"

"I am not a coward anymore demon," Fox said as he pointed a finger at the demon. "And soon I will not have to hide. I need not to bargain with you!"

"We shall see…" The demon said with a growl as it narrowed its glowing eyes. It rushed at Atreyu, who had been standing ready for an attack of any kind, and was quickly hit in the face with an ice spell. The demon roared in pain as the ice burned its fiery body then grunted as Atreyu jabbed his staff into the demon's middle. Fox changed back into a bear and raked his claws down the lesser demon's back, pulling back just in time as Atreyu blasted the demon with a bolt of magic to the face.

The demon roared in defeat as it seemed to melt away, becoming a puddle of lava on the fiery ground.

"You did it," Fox said as he changed back into an Elf and turned to face Atreyu. "You actually did it! When I saw you, child of magic, I hoped that maybe you might be able to… but I never really thought any of you were worthy."

"Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence," Atreyu said dryly. "And this was all a little _too_ easy."

"That is because you are a true child of magic, a true mage," Fox said. "One of the few. The others I have seen, they did not stand a chance. The Templars set them up to fail, as they tried with you."

"The Templars have no control over this realm, though I bet they wish they did," Atreyu said as he crossed his arms over his chest and glared at Fox. "And let's talk about your part in all this. Something about a bargain between you and puddles here?"

"I regret my part in it," Fox said with a shake of his head. "One does what they must to survive within the Fade. But you have shown me that there is hope, child of magic. You can be so much more than you know."

"There's more to it than that," Atreyu said. "You want something from me don't you? What is it?"

"You defeated a demon, you completed your test," Fox said with an excited shake of his head. "With time, you could be a master enchanter and strong enough to escape the tower and the circle, return to your people. And if there is hope for you to return to our lands, maybe there is hope for me as well… if you want to help."

"Help…" Atreyu said slowly. "And just how would I do that?" Just how did this Elf know he wanted to leave that blasted tower and return home to his clan he was stolen from? He hadn't said a word to that effect since coming here.

"There may be a way for me to leave, to gain a foothold to the world outside," Fox said. "You just need to… want to let me in." Atreyu quickly took a step back, his hand going up to his staff once again.

"I'm starting to think that the other demon wasn't my real test," Atreyu said in a wary tone.

"What? What are you… Of course it was!" Fox explained, spreading his arms as if he was offended. "What else is here that could harm a child of magic of your potential?"

"Hmm let me see…. Well there's you," Atreyu pointed out. "You are not like _any_ Elf I have met, you are not of my clan and you are not of the Dalish. You are not an Elf from the cities either. You know, somehow, that I wish to get the hell away from the Tower of Magi and the Templars, to return to my clan and family when I know I haven't said a thing to you like that. And you know a little too much for someone who claims to have forgotten everything about themselves."

Fox stared at Atreyu then started to chuckle, shaking his head.

"Oh you are a smart one," Fox said, the deep voice the Elf had before changing into a softer female voice. Atreyu took another step back as Fox started to glow, the Elf replaced with a scantily clad female demon. "Hmm… I did not think you would be able to see through my tricks, the real danger of the Fade is preconceptions after all, careless trust."

"I trust nothing I saw here," Atreyu said. "Why am I not surprised you are a demon?"

"Hmm… I could help you, you know," The Desire demon said as she stepped closer to Atreyu, reaching up to lay a hand on his cheek. "I can give you the power needed to get past the Templars, to escape your tower and to return to your people." She stopped as something cold and sharp pressed against her neck, Atreyu's staff had changed into a sword with barely a thought, Atreyu's crystal blue eyes cold as he glared at her.

"Over my dead body demon," Atreyu said. Desire gave him her best pouty, sexy look while attempting to press her own will on Atreyu but he wouldn't budge and finally she was forced to let him return to his own body. Such a pity too, she would have loved to play with the pretty Elf before eating his soul.

* * *

The Fade was the realm of dreams, as such time past must faster within the Fade than it did within the waking world. What could seem like hours to the dreamer in truth was only a few minutes to those were wide awake. Greagoir stood ready near where the Elven apprentice named Atreyu stood, the boy's eyes blank as his soul wondered the Fade for his Harrowing, ready to put the Elf down should he fail his test. He didn't much like the Elf, Atreyu had caused much trouble over the years for his Templars. Not as much as the boy Anders had, who had escaped the tower many time and had to be brought back in chains, but Atreyu made it clear he hated the Tower of Magi. Greagoir had thought the Elf might turned to Blood Magic like many mages did when they were desperate to escape at one time but he had to admit he admired Atreyu for completely rejecting Blood Magic, strong willed enough not to be drawn in by the foul magic.

Greagoir had been unable to punish Atreyu harshly for his behavior, the Elf was a favorite of Irving's and the First Enchanter refused to see the boy punished when it could be avoided.

Irving too stood nearby, watching his student. Unlike Greagoir, Irving had confidence that Atreyu would pass the Harrowing with no trouble and earn his place as a full mage. The young Elf had shown such a gift with magic since the day he had been brought to the tower at the young age of 9. He had worried a bit for a time when Atreyu refused to allow himself to get close to anyone in the tower with the exception of Wynne, and even that had been met with wariness, until the boy had become close to Jowan, another young mage of the tower. Anders had also befriended the boy, though never as close as Jowan had become, over their mutual hate of the tower and the circle. All three boys had taken Silvia Amell, a young orphan bought to the tower nearly three years after Atreyu, under their wing giving her the nickname Silver. Atreyu was a joy to teach, though he had very little head for healing spells favoring instead other branches of magic but what healing magic he couldn't cast he more than made up for in his knowledge of herbs and potions.

Irving knew Atreyu would never fully accept life here in the tower, or being under the constant thumb of the Templars and the Chantry. He remembered the letter he had received the day before, a request from the Gray Warden Duncan to speak to him and Greagoir about allowing more Circle Mages to join them in battle. Irving thought that Atreyu may jump at the chance to join the Wardens, to leave the tower and have a bit more freedom than he would have here. Greagoir would never agree to it of course, which is why he had not brought up the idea with his counterpart. He knew Duncan needed more Gray Wardens and Atreyu was more than skillful enough to be up to the task.

Both Irving and Greagoir's attention, as well as the other Templar knights within the chamber, were brought back to Atreyu as the Elven youth groaned and slumped to the stone floor as the lyruim released him from the Fade.

"Th-that's impossible…" Greagoir whispered as he stared at the silver hair youth on the floor. "He couldn't have passed the Harrowing so quickly." Harrowings tended to take a bit of time as the mages who took the test bumbled around in the Fade for quite some time before defeating their demon, and that is if the mage was lucky enough to do so. "He must have come in contact with a demon, we should-"

"If Atreyu had become an abomination, then he would be attempting to kill everyone within this chamber," Irving said as he knelt next to his student, his joints creaking softly and hands glowing as he checked the Elf over. He was just as shocked as Greagoir, no one not even he had passed the Harrowing so quickly, but Maker damn if he wasn't proud of the boy for doing so. After a few seconds Irving smiled as he stood. "Atreyu is himself, there is no demon or spirit within him. He had past his test."

"I find it suspicious that the boy had passed the test in such a short time," Greagoir said with narrowed eyes. Irving snorted as he turned to the Knight-Commander.

"Do you think Atreyu had help then while within the Fade Greagoir?" Irving asked. "Unless your Templars have suddenly gained the power to enter the Fade, Atreyu had no help what so ever."

"What about that boy he spends all his time with, the one who-" Greagoir started to ask, grasping at straws.

"I have no doubt Jowan would help his friend if he were able but you know Atreyu's feelings on the subject Greagoir, he would never accept it," Irving said. "Atreyu has passed his Harrowing fairly and is now a Mage of the Circle. You will just have to accept this."

"Fine, but I will be keeping an eye on this one," Greagoir growled as he motioned for two of the knights to pick up Atreyu and take him back down to the apprentice dorms to sleep off the high dose of lyruim used to take him to the Fade.

"Don't you always?" Irving asked with a sigh.

* * *

Jowan looked up from his reading as he heard Atreyu groan and shift on his bed. The Elf had been out for hours since coming back from his Harrowing, Jowan having watched as two knights drug his friend to his bed and drop the Elf on the uncomfortable surface. Jowan had quickly arranged Atreyu into a more comfortable position and kept watch over his best friend. He hadn't even known his friend had been through the test until he heard others gossiping about it. He quickly stood and walked over to Atreyu's bed, kneeling next to it.

"Are you alright?" Jowan asked worried. "Say something please…"

"Hmm…. Jowan?" Atreyu asked as he rubbed his forehead.

"I'm glad you're alright," Jowan said relieved as he stood up and stepped back as Atreyu sat up then climbed off the bed. "They carried you in this morning, I didn't even realize you've been gone all night. I've heard about apprentices who never come back from Harrowing. Is it really that dangerous? What was it like?"

"Harrowing," Atreyu said dryly as he walked over to the chest at the end of his bed. He head was killing him and he hoped he still had a potion in his chest to take care of his headache.

"It that why they don't tell us what it's about?" Jowan wondered, watching as Atreyu made a happy noise and uncorked a bottle to drink the contents. "I know I'm not supposed to know… but we're friends. Just a little hint, and I'll stop asking, I promise!"

"Jowan, you know I can't tell you," Atreyu said as he closed his chest and sat down on top of it with a sigh, relaxing a bit as the potion worked its magic and his headache started to fade away. "Both of us would get in trouble if I did." He gave a pointed glance at the Templar Knight watching over the room.

"And now you get to move to the nice mage's quarters upstairs," Jowan said as he sat down next to Atreyu on the chest, crossing his arms over his chest. "I'm stuck here and I don't know when they'll call me for my Harrowing."

"They'll summon you when you're ready," Atreyu said with a sigh.

"I've been here longer than you have… sometimes I think they just don't want to test me," Jowan pointed out. Atreyu admitted that was true, while they were close to the same age, Jowan had been brought to the tower at a much younger age than Atreyu had been.

"Well… maybe you're not ready?" Atreyu suggested. Jowan wasn't the best at magic but his friend wasn't bad either. He was a bit clumsy at times and still burnt himself with fire spells but Atreyu thought Jowan could past the test. At least he hoped so.

"I've been ready for a long time," Jowan disagreed. "I'm afraid they don't want me to take the test. You do the Harrowing, the Rite of Tranquility… or you die. That's what happens.

"They're not going to kill you Jo," Atreyu said as he pressed his shoulder against Jowan's.

"They might not," Jowan agreed softly, pressing back gently against his slightly smaller friend. "But the Rite of Tranquility is just as bad… maybe worse." Atreyu shuddered slightly, the idea of being made Tranquil… it scared him as much as it scared Jowan. To be cut off completely from your magic and to have no emotions… Atreyu would rather die than have to go through that hell.

"You've seen the Tranquil around the tower, like Owian who runs the stockroom," Jowan said.

"Yeah I've seen him," Atreyu said with a shake of his head. "He's so cold now."

"Not even cold. There's just… nothing in him," Jowan said. "It's like he's dead, but still walking. His voice, his eyes are lifeless…" Atreyu shuddered again, he could agree with that. He hated talking to Owain when he needed to fetch something from the stockroom.

"I think you're reading too much into it," Atreyu said. "They're not going to make you Tranquil and they're not going to kill you. You'll go through your Harrowing, soon I hope as it'll be lonely upstairs without you."

"I wish I had as much confidence as you on that," Jowan said with a sigh. Atreyu was his only real friend at the tower, most people ignored him. The two of them had been at each other sides since Jowan saved the little wild Elf from a fight with much older, bigger apprentices who didn't like Elves all that much. One of the few times Jowan had ever shown bravery. He had been shocked to learn Atreyu was from the Korcari Wilds the same as him, Jowan even thought Atreyu may be from the Dalish clan that would wonder the wilds though Atreyu always denied he was one. Jowan had been taken from his tribe when he was young, during a lucky catch set up by the Chantry and the Templars to catch and kill rouge mages. Jowan had been young enough to be saved by the views of the Chantry and sent to the Tower of Magi. Seen as strange by the rest of the mages of the tower, Jowan had been left on his own until a certain little wild Elf had been brought in. They had been each other's support within the tower, Jowan usually following Atreyu in whatever mad scheme the Elf had. Not to say they were completely friendless, a few of the older mages were kind to them over time. Anders had watched over Atreyu and Jowan plenty of times in the past and one of the younger girls in the tower, Silver Amell, was like a sister to the two teens.

"I shouldn't waste your time with this," Jowan said as he stood up. "I was supposed to tell you to see Irving as soon as you woke up."

"What for?" Atreyu asked as he stood as well.

"I don't know but you better not keep him waiting," Jowan said. He reached up and clasped Atreyu's shoulder gently. "We can speak later."

"Alright, just try not to get into trouble then," Atreyu said. Jowan laughed softly and shook his head.

"You are the one always causing trouble my friend," He said as he walked away. Atreyu hummed softly as he watched Jowan until the other man left his sight. He worried about his friend sometimes and he wished Irving would just let Jowan go through the Harrowing already, it would put his friend's mind at ease. Sighing to himself, Atreyu turned and walked out of the apprentice dorms to head up to the next level of the tower. His sharp ears catch snatches of gossip as he walked, learning that many of the other apprentices were in awe of him as he had the shortest time of passing the Harrowing. He was a bit smug to learn about that.

The trip to the second level and to Irving's rooms was short, a few of the older mages stopping Atreyu to congratulate the young Elf for passing his Harrowing and to welcome him into the circle. Atreyu forced a polite smile each time, he honestly didn't care about the circle of magi but it was better than being a simple apprentice and living in the dorms.

As he approached Irving's rooms, Atreyu could hear Greagoir ranting about something inside. Atreyu rolled his eyes but entered anyway, he had been summoned after all. Inside were the Knight-Commander, Irving and a third man Atreyu had never seen before.

"- many have already gone to Ostagar – Wynne, Uldred, and most of the senior mages!" Greagoir yelled. "We've committed enough of our own to this war effort-"

"Your own?" Irving asked with a raised eyebrow and tried tone as if he heard this argument many times over. "Since when have you felt such kinship with the mages, Greagoir? Or are you afraid to let mages out from Chantry supervision, where they can actually use their Maker-given powers?"

"How dare you suggest-" Greagoir started, pointing a finger at Irving in anger.

"Gentlemen, please," The third man said calmly. "Irving, someone is here to see you." He waved a hand at Atreyu who stood in the doorway.

"Errr… what's going on?" Atreyu asked, wondering what the fight was about.

"Nothing concerning you at this moment," Irving said kindly as he smiled at his favorite student. "Come, child." Duncan stepped up to Irving's side as he looked Atreyu over.

"This is...?" He let the question hang in the air. Before Greagoir had busted into the room to argue that no more mages would be joining the fight at Ostagar, Irving had told him about his young student and that perhaps the young Elven mage could make an excellent Gray Warden.

"Yes, this is he," Irving assured him with a glance in Duncan's direction.

"Well, Irving," Greagoir said as he prepared to leave the room. Talk of war was not for the young mage's ears after all. "You're obviously busy. We will discuss this later."

"Of course," Irving agreed, waiting until Greagoir had left his chambers before turning to Atreyu as the Elven mage came closer. "Well, then… where was I? Oh yes. This is Duncan, of the Gray Wardens."

Atreyu's eyes widen a tiny bit, he heard plenty of the Gray Wardens over the years and about their eternal battle with the Darkspawn.

"I am please to meet you Gray Warden Duncan," Atreyu said with a tiny bit of a bow. Duncan smiled just a tiny bit and nodded back.

"You've heard about the war brewing in the south, I expect?" Irving questioned.

"Yes, it's all some of the older mages can talk about," Atreyu said. Irving gave Atreyu a pleased smile.

"Duncan is recruiting mages to join the king's arm at Ostagar," The elder mage told him.

"Ostagar? The ruins near the swamp?" Atreyu asked.

"You've heard of it?" Duncan asked.

"I… am from the area originally," Atreyu admitted. "I'm going to take it you're fighting Darkspawn then?"

"Yes, the threat grows in the south," Duncan agreed. "We need all the help we can get. The power you mages wield is an asset to any army. Your spells are very effective against large groups of mindless Darkspawn. I fear if we don't drive them back, we may see another blight." Atreyu came worried at hearing this, he still had family that lived within the Wilds after all, family he loved and missed very much.

"Duncan, you worry the poor boy with talks of blights and Darkspawn," Irving said as he saw the worried look in Atreyu's eyes. "This is a happy day for him."

"We live in troubled times, my friend," Duncan said in a somber tone.

"We should seize moments of levity, _especially _in troubled times," Irving countered then turned back to his student. "The Harrowing is behind you. Your phylactery was sent to Denerim. You are officially a mage within the Circle of Magi," He said proudly.

"You mean my leash," Atreyu all but spat.

"Now child, you know that is for your protection," Irving said soothingly.

"I'm sorry – what is this phylactery?" Duncan asked. The youth seemed upset by it being brought up.

"Blood is taken from all apprentices when they first come to the tower and is preserved in special vials," Duncan explained.

"So they can be hunted if they turn apostate," Duncan guessed.

"Or be tracked if we try to leave the tower without permission," Atreyu said as he crossed his arms over his chest. "To be dragged back kicking and screaming."

"We have few choices," Irving said with a sigh as he crossed his arms as well. "The gift of magic is looked upon with suspicion and fear. We must prove we are strong enough to handle our powers responsibly." He turned his attention back to Atreyu and gave him a proud smile. "You have done this. I present you with your robes, your staff, and a ring bearing the Circle's insignia. Wear them proudly, for you have earned them." Irving turned and picked up a set of robes off his desk, a silver ring sitting on top, and handed them to Atreyu.

"Thank you First Enchanter," Atreyu said as he took the robes. "What happens now?"

"Patience, child," Irving said with a chuckle. "You have been through an ordeal. Let us not rush things. It goes without saying that you shall not discuss the Harrowing with those who have not undergone the rite."

"You mean I shouldn't tell Jowan," Atreyu said, a teasing smile on his lips. "I was tempted too but I kept it a secret in the end." Irving chuckled again and shook his head.

"Now then… take your time to rest, or study in the library. The day is yours," Irving said. "If you wish, you may step into my bedchambers to change into your new robes child. I shall have your old ones sent off."

"Thank you sir," Atreyu said with a small bow and entered the offered chambers. He curled his lip slightly as he looked at his new outfit once he was alone again. It was the same as the robes he wore now but a different color. "No one around here has any originality," he bemoaned to himself as he started to change.

"Irving, are you sure…?" Duncan asked once Atreyu left the room.

"Yes, the boy is quite strong and stifled here in the tower," Irving said softly. "You saw his reaction, he has someone he wants to protect within the Wilds, he will bewilling do anything to protect whomever that is."

"I shall… see how it plays out then," Duncan agreed at last. He did need more Gray Wardens after all and a mage would be an excellent addition to the ranks alongside the young Dalish he was already bringing.


	3. Chapter 3

Wilder Wardens

Author: USA Tiger

Disclaimer: The Dragon Age series is the property of BioWare.

Author Note: Thanks goes out to my beta and head minion Asilyessam who checks behind me for grammar and spelling mistakes and checks that my lore is correct.

Chapter 3

A few minutes later Atreyu exited Irving's bedchambers wearing his new mage robes and ring on his right hand, his old apprentice robes in his arms.

"Just leave the robes there in the corner child," Irving said with a wave of his hand. He handed Atreyu his new mages staff as Duncan said,

"I will return to my quarters." Seeing a chance for Atreyu to speak to Duncan alone, Irving quickly turned to the elf.

"Would you be so kind as to escort Duncan back to his room, child?" Atreyu blinked at Irving for the odd request. He was quite sure Duncan knew his way back to his room, the guest quarters were on the same level on the other side of the tower. But… he did wish to speak to the Gray Warden, to find out more about this possible blight.

"Of course First Enchanter," Atreyu said with an easy smile. "It would be my pleasure."

"The guest quarters are on the east side of this floor, close to the library," Irving said, as if Atreyu didn't already know. "Now, if you'll both excuse me, I have matters to discuss with Greagoir." He sighed, sounding very much like he was about to go to battle. Atreyu smirked just a tiny bit, everyone knew about how much Greagoir and Irving argued about every little thing in the tower.

"Shall we then?" Atreyu asked Duncan. Duncan nodded and followed the Elf out of Irving's rooms.

"Thank you for walking with me," Duncan said once they were alone in the corridor. "I am glad for the company."

"I'm glad to be of service," Atreyu said. "But honestly, I wanted to take the chance to talk to you a little more."

"Yes? What about?" Duncan asked. Atreyu bit his lip for a second before answering.

"Has… there been many Darkspawn attacks?"

"A horde has formed within the Korcari Wilds in the south," Duncan said. "If they are not stopped, they will strike north into the valley." Atreyu's stomach felt like it was full of lead hearing that.

"Do… you know how far within the Wilds?" Atreyu asked, dreading the answer.

"Further south but they are rapidly heading north," Duncan said. "You said you were form the area originally, you are from the Dalish clan then?"

"What?" Atreyu blinked then shook his head. "Oh no no, I'm no Dalish Elf. Why does everyone ask that? Is it the tattoo? It's the tattoo isn't it?" He joked, grinning slightly as Duncan cracked a small smile. "But no, my own tribe… well it's a little complicated to explain. But they live within the Wilds and I can't help but worry about them." Duncan nodded, Irving was correct Atreyu did have someone he wanted to protect.

"We Gray Wardens believe that an archdemon is leading the horde," Duncan said.

"That's the leader of the Darkspawn isn't it?" Atreyu asked.

"Yes, Darkspawn do attack the surface in ragtag bands, but archdemons are capable of rallying the Darkspawn, turning them into an unstoppable force," Duncan confirmed. "A horde of Darkspawn… a veritable army. It is dire news indeed. I fear this is what we will have to face."

"And you came here asking for more help from the mages? Wasn't that what Greagoir was complaining about?" Atreyu asked.

"Yes, they allowed seven mages to join us for the upcoming battle," Duncan said.

"That's a small number," Atreyu said with a frown. "I would think fighting Darkspawn is a little more important than keeping us under lock and key."

"Indeed, I wish to place a many mages within the army, your spells are invaluable against the Darkspawn. They are more dangerous than Blood Mages or even Abominations. I wish the Chantry could see that," Duncan said.

"Well according to the Chantry, it's we _dangerous_ mages that are responsible for the Darkspawn to begin with," Atreyu said with a humorless laugh. "We're blamed for what only a few mages were foolish enough to try. Duncan… is there any way for me to join the army?"

"Do you wish too?" Duncan asked.

"I… would like to help," Atreyu said, thinking of his remaining family and his tribe in the Wilds. Of his friends he was forced to leave behind when the Templars brought him here to the Tower of Magi.

"I will speak to Irving then, see what I can do," Duncan offered. Atreyu gave him a grateful smile and nodded.

* * *

Inside the guest quarters he and Duncan were given, Raziel sat nervously on the edge of the bed. This whole tower set him on edge, he didn't like the place one bit. He hated being so far from the ground and he wasn't able to see the sky. The room had no windows to speak of and he wondered how all these Shemlen could stand to live like this.

He wanted to go home, he missed his clan and felt very homesick. He hadn't seen another Elf in days and he felt uncomfortable being surrounded by so many humans. He almost wished he hadn't agreed to leave with Duncan, almost. But if he hadn't left, Raziel knew he would have died. As it was, the Darkspawn taint in him burned his insides. Without the Keeper's healing magic to keep it a bay, Raziel could feel the dark taint within him making him sicker and sicker. His stomach hurt, his head pounded in pain at times and his whole body shook in pain as the taint slowly overtook him. He wondered if the taint would kill him before Duncan had a chance to use this cure he talked about.

Wrapping his arms around himself, Raziel glanced about the room again, trying to take his mind off the pain and how uncomfortable he was here. He had been told he could explore this level of the tower, even been offered an escort but the idea of being in this strange place all alone scared him. He wished Duncan would come back already and that they could leave.

He heard footsteps outside in the corridor, his head snapping up to see who it was. Relief flooded through Raziel when he saw it was Duncan then gave a curious glance at the person with him. He blinked in surprise and sat up a little straighter as he got a better look. It was an Elf, the first one he seen in days. The other Elf was a little older than him with silvery white hair and dark markings on his face. For a moment, Raziel thought the other Elf was a Dalish like himself then realized he didn't recognize the markings. He knew all of the Creators' markings… all except Fen'harel that was. But surely this other Elf didn't have…

"Thank you for escorting me to my rooms," Duncan said as he and Atreyu entered.

"Thank you for tell me a bit more about what's going on outside the tower," Atreyu responded. A movement out the corner of his eye caught his attention and turned his head that way, surprised to see another Elf in the room. He gave Raziel a curious look that was returned by the younger Elf, wondering what a Dalish was doing with the Gray Warden. "I… suppose I should take my leave now." Duncan nodded and watched as Atreyu left the room.

"Who was that?" Raziel asked as he slid off the bed and wondered closer to the door, peeking out of it. The other Elf was standing in the corridor speaking to a human mage with a frown on his face.

"Why are you whispering?" He heard Atreyu ask. The human hushed him and asked Atreyu to follow, the pair quickly leaving Raziel's sight.

"His name is Atreyu, he is one of the Mages within the tower," Duncan informed him.

"But he's a Dalish," Raziel said as he turned back to Duncan. "Why would he be here? Was he exiled from his clan?" He knew clans only kept a certain amount of mages with them, either moving any Dalish youth that showed that they had magic to a different clan or if they were unlucky, they were exiled.

"According to him, he is not a Dalish Elf," Duncan informed him. "There are mages who are Elves Raziel."

"I know that, the Keeper and Merrill are both mages," Raziel said. "I guess… I just didn't think there were any other Elves here."

"There are a few from what I understand within the tower," Duncan said.

"Oh…" Raziel looked confused, why would Elves _want_ to live here? "Are we leaving soon?"

"Yes, I expect we shall be leaving within the day," Duncan assured him. He looked at Raziel worriedly, the youth's skin was quite pale and he could see the boy's veins starting to darken a tiny bit. He hoped to get the Dalish to Ostagar quickly to do the joining before the Darkspawn taint spread too far to help the boy.

* * *

Meanwhile after Atreyu left the room…

Atreyu's head was bowed in through as he left Duncan's room, his mind on what was going on outside of the tower. He had meant what he said to the Gray Warden, he would gladly join the army if it meant getting out of this tower and protecting what was left of his family. He was worried, his tribe had lived in the Wilds for the last few centuries, moving only when they had too. Did his tribe mates know that Darkspawn were starting to gather? Than a blight was upon them? He didn't know, he hadn't seen his tribe in 10 years and was worried sick with the idea that they could be killed by the Darkspawn.

"Atreyu," Jowan's voice called ahead of him. Atreyu blinked and looked up as Jowan knocked him from his thoughts.

"Jowan?" He asked as he came to a stop.

"I'm glad I caught up to you," Jowan said in a whisper as he quickly moved to Atreyu's side. "Are you done talking with Irving?"

"For now, yes," Atreyu asked, Jowan was acting very strange.

"I need to talk to you," Jowan said. "Do you remember what we discussed this morning?" Atreyu frowned at his best friend.

"Why are you whispering?" Atreyu asked. Jowan quickly shook his head and held up his hands to tell Atreyu to keep his voice down.

"We should go somewhere else," He whispered. "I don't feel safe talking here."

"You're starting to worry me Jo," Atreyu said.

"I've been troubled… I'll explain," Jowan said, making Atreyu worry more about his friend. "Come with me, please."

"Alright, but you better explain," Atreyu said as he followed his friend. Jowan lead him to one of the chapel rooms within the tower a few rooms down from the guest quarters. He was lead off to the side of the room, where a young woman wearing the robes of a Chantry sister waited. Atreyu gave her a curious look, wondering what was going on.

"We should be safe here," Jowan said. Atreyu frowned and crossed his arms over his chest.

"Ok, what is going on?" He asked, looking from Jowan to the girl.

"A few months ago, I told you that I… met a girl," Jowan said. Atreyu nodded slowly, he remembered as it was the last time the two of them shared a bed. "This is Lily," Jowan waved his hand in the direction of the girl who smiled politely.

"Ahhh, I was starting to wonder if she was real," Atreyu said with a strained smile.

"Very funny," Jowan said in a deadpan voice.

"Get to the point Jowan," Atreyu said. He wasn't too happy about meeting the girl whom had taken away Jowan's attention. They had been close, well closer as they were still best friends, but Jowan had ended that part of their friendship some months ago with no other reason than he met someone. Atreyu had been hurt but didn't try to stop his friend from being happy. But he had thought it was another mage, not a Chantry sister, he didn't see how this was going to end well.

"Remember I said that I didn't think they wanted to give me my Harrowing?" Jowan asked. Atreyu frowned and nodded, Jowan had been complaining about it that very morning after all. "I know why. They're… going to make me tranquil."

"I'm sorry, what?" Atreyu asked looking at Jowan in shock.

"They'll take everything that I am from me – my dreams, hopes, fears… my love for Lily. All gone…" Jowan said in a frightened tone. Atreyu couldn't blame him if that was true, being tranquil was worse than death after all but… why would they want to make Jowan tranquil?

"I… I…" Atreyu didn't know what to say, he couldn't find the words.

"They'll extinguish my humanity," Jowan said close to tears. "I'll be a husk, breathing and existing, but not truly living." Atreyu closed his eyes and breathed deeply, yes he was troubled by this news, greatly so, but there has to be some sort of explanation. He needed to be calm because Jowan sure wasn't.

"How did you even find out about this?" He asked at last.

"I saw the document on Greagori's table," Lily said, speaking up for the first time. "It authorized the Rite on Jowan, and Irving had signed it." Atreyu's breath caught in his throat, his mentor had…. But why?

"Why though… why would they…" Atreyu looked at Jowan, trying to get an explanation.

"There's… a rumor about me," Jowan confessed, shifting uneasily on his feet. "People think I'm a blood mage. They think that making me a Circle mage will endanger everyone."

"But you're not," Atreyu said with a frown. "I would have noticed if you were practicing blood magic Jowan." Atreyu started to pace a little, missing the uneasy guilty look on Jowan's face. "What do you plan on doing about it? They can't make you tranquil on a baseless rumor like this."

"I need to escape," Jowan said.

"How? When we tried as kids they dragged us and Anders back to the tower in Mage Bane chains," Atreyu said as he faced Jowan again. "They tracked us down using our blood remember?"

"I need to destroy my phylactery," Jowan said. "Without it, they can't track me down. We need your help. Lily and I can't do this on our own."

"Just how to you plan on doing that Jowan?" Atreyu asked with a raised eyebrow. "If it were easy to get to our phylacteries…" If it were easy, Anders would have destroyed his a long time ago and so would have Atreyu.

"Give is your word that you will help and we will tell you what we intend," Lily said. Atreyu turned his attention to Lily, he didn't like her and wasn't sure if he could trust her word. She was the only one that saw this so-called document after all, Jowan didn't have any real proof that Irving and Greagoir…

Atreyu sighed and reached up to rub his forehead. "Fine yes, I agree."

"Thank you," Lily said. "We will never forget this."

"This had better be a good plan," Atreyu said, he swore he could feel another headache forming.

"I can get us into the repository," Lily said. "But there is a problem."

"And that is?" Atreyu asked, resting his elbow in one hand and waving for her to continue with the other.

"There are two locks on the phylactery chamber door," Lily explained. "The first enchanter and knight-commander each old one key."

"Well neither of them are about to let us borrow their keys," Atreyu said.

"But it is just a door," Lily said. "There is power enough in this place to destroy all of Ferelden. What is a door to mages?"

"Talk like that is the reason why people are afraid of mages," Atreyu said. "Just how do you suggest that we break through the door?"

"I once saw a rod of fire melt through a lock," Jowan suggested. "You could get one from the stockroom. But Owain doesn't release such things to apprentices."

"But I'm not an apprentice anymore," Atreyu said with a sigh. "So I'll have to go get it."

"We should stay here," Lily suggested to Jowan. "One mage at the stockroom will attract less attention that a mage, an apprentice, and an initiate."

"Fine, wait here then," Atreyu said as he turned and walked away with a wave over his shoulder. Deep down he was still in shock. Why would they think Jowan was a blood mage? He would never turn to blood magic.

"Welcome to the Circle's stockroom of magical items," a dead toneless voice said in front of him. Atreyu blinked and looked up, his feet had taken him to the stockroom while he was deep in thought. "My name is Owain. How my I assist you?"

Atreyu shuddered slightly, Owain was just so….

"I need a rod of fire," He said, wanting to get as far away from Owain as quickly as possible.

"Rods of fire serve many purposes," Owain said blankly. "Why do you wish to acquire this particular item?"

"To burn things?" Atreyu asked sarcastically. Owain turned and picked up a roll of parchment from a table behind him and handed the scroll to Atreyu.

"Here is the form – 'Request for Rod of Fire'. Have it signed and dated by a senior enchanter," Owain said. "I will release a rod to you once I have a signed form."

_'Ok, not as easy as I thought this was going to be,'_ Atreyu thought as he walked away with the scroll. He opened it up and looked it over, seeing the place at the bottom where someone needed to sign. He thought for a moment about forging a signature on the scroll but he had no skills in that and even all but dead Owain would likely notice. He could sweet talk one of the elder Mages into signing for him, Atreyu had a silver tongue when he needed too, but…. He glanced down the corridor toward Irving's rooms. He still didn't know if he believed Lily about Jowan being made tranquiled and part of him wanted to ask his mentor himself if it was true. Then he remembered that Lily had said Irving's signature was on the paper and he gripped the scroll tightly. He might respect the First Enchanter, the man was his mentor for years after all, but he cared for Jowan more and couldn't bring himself to betray him.

He didn't know what was going through Irving's or Greagori's heads, thinking that Jowan was a blood mage, but he was damned if he was going to stand by and help them do it.

Decision made, Atreyu turned on his heel and went out to search for someone he could trick into signing the scroll.

* * *

Tricking one of the Senior Enchanters turned out to be a lot easier than Atreyu thought it would be. He had found Sweeney, an older human mage that was a tiny bit scattered brain and had horrible eyesight. Atreyu had long ago figured out sweet talking and being nice to the man would get him almost any book in the library that were only available to Circle Mages. He almost felt bad for using the older mage to get the Fire Rod but really thinking on it, it was the best choice. If asked Sweeney would be unable to identify who he had signed the form for as the elder mage couldn't tell who was who most of the time with his bad vision. Atreyu was tempted to use the Fire Rod once he had it on the templar like Sweeney requested but Jowan was on borrowed time and they didn't have the time to make one of the knight's lives a little more uncomfortable.

"Welcome to the Circle's stockroom of magical items," Owain said as Atreyu walked up once again. "My name is Ow-" Atreyu growled and pushed the scroll into Owain's chest.

"I know who you are, here's the scroll for the Fire Rod, signed and dated," he said as he crossed his arms and tapped his foot. Owain opened the scroll and checked it with slow wooden like gestures.

"Everything looks to be in order," Owain said. He turned and placed the scroll in a box with others then picked up a long white wand like rod. "Here is the rod you requested."

"Finally," Atreyu said under his breath as he took the Fire Rod and quickly left, not even saying thank you to the tranquiled man not that Owain noticed as he once again stood at attention for the next person to come by. Atreyu hurried back to the chapel where he left Jowan and Lily, letting out a small breath of relief when he saw his friend was still there, pacing back and forth in worry.

"I hate waiting," Atreyu heard Jowan say. "It makes me nervous."

"Good thing you don't have to wait any more then," Atreyu said as he walked up, holding the rod up for the other two to see.

"That was quick!" Jowan said in surprise.

"Would have been quicker if I didn't have to get that damn form signed," Atreyu muttered under his breath as he tucked the rod away in a pocket.

"To the repository, then," Lily said eagerly. "Freedom awaits."

"Ladies first," Atreyu said as he stepped back with a sweeping hand. "That means you Jowan."

"Oh ha ha," Jowan said with small shake of his head while Lily laughed softly then swept past the both of them. The two young men followed the Chantry sister downstairs, people within the apprentices' library giving them a curious glance as they were use to seeing Atreyu and Jowan together but not with someone who was part of the Chantry. Atreyu flinched slightly as he heard someone ask another person about it and hoped no one went running to Irving or one of the Templars.

"Here we go," Atreyu said as they reached the door that lead down to the lower levels under the tower. Atreyu had only been here once a long time ago, locked away in one of the cells as a punishment for something he had done. He hoped he didn't end up locked in that cell again for all this.

"The Chantry calls this entrance 'the Victims Door'," Lily said as they approached the door. "It was built of two hundred and seventy-seven planks, one for each original Templar."

"Lovely," Atreyu said dryly, arms crossed over his chest. "No questions who they think the 'victims' are." Jowan pushed Atreyu's arm and hushed him.

"It is a reminder of all the dangers those cursed with magic pose," Lily scolded softly to Atreyu.

"I don't see magic as a curse and I would thank you never say that to me ever again," Atreyu hissed hotly. He hated how the Chantry and the Templars acted like mages were all ready to turn on them at the moment's notice as if the demons of the Fade would come swooping down and take them over, killing everyone in sight. "This is what I can't stand about the Chantry, you all go on about how dangerous magic is never giving its users a chance to really prove themselves. Instead we're treated like scum, like we're all plotting to take over the world. The Chantry is no better than the Tevinter Imperium most days, oppressing a bunch of beings and for what? Magic? Magic can be the most wonderful thing in the world, it's not all just destruction! It can be beautiful, it can be terrible, it only depends on the _person_."

"Atreyu!" Jowan yelled when he saw Lily flinch at Atreyu's words. "Please… stop…"

Atreyu growled softly, glaring at the both of them for a second then took a deep breath to calm himself down, he hated how children of magic were treated. "How do we get past the door?"

"The doors can be opened only by a Templar and a mage entering together," Lily said, her voice shaking slightly. "The Chantry provides the password, which primes the ward. And the mage touches it with mana, to release it."

"Last time I checked we don't have a Templar with us," Atreyu said. "I could always pop back upstairs and see if one would like to help us. Unless you have the password already."

"Yes, I got it from a Templar who recently accompanied a mage into the vault," Lily assured him.

"And this templar wasn't suspicious of you?" Atreyu asked with a raised eyebrow.

"We have chatted on many occasions," Lily said. "I believe he trusts me." Atreyu was starting to wonder just how long the girl and Jowan had planned this mad escape, Lily seemed to be prepared for all this.

"Alright Chantry-girl," Atreyu said. "What's the password?" Lily turned toward the door, closing her eyes as she recited the words to prime the ward over the door.

"Sword of the Maker, Tears of the Fade," Lily said with her hand out stretched toward the door. Atreyu blinked as he heard something that sounded like a rush of magic.

"What was that sound?" Atreyu asked.

"The password only primes the door," Lily explained as she turned back to the two males. "Now it must feel the touch of mana. Any spell will do. But hurry."

Atreyu sighed and gathered up a ball of magic between the palms of his hands. He could just fling a quick spell at the door but he was still angry over Lily's words and wanted to try and show this woman that magic wasn't all bad. Holding his hands close to his face, Atreyu gently blew on the ball of magic. The magic flew away from him in a sparkle of light, taking the form of a kaleidoscope of white butterflies, their wings shimmering like the rainbow as they gently flew through the air. They swirled around Atreyu, Jowan and Lily like a soft breeze then flew toward the door. The butterflies landed on the door, their wings beating delicately before disappearing in a shower of sparkles that melted into the door and unlocked the ward. Lily gasped very softly, she had ever seen anything like it, she had thought Atreyu would just fling a ball of magic at the door. Jowan was impressed as well, Atreyu always seem to do more with his magic than any other mage he knew. Sometimes he was jealous of his friend.

Both of the young lovers quickly shook off their thoughts and followed Atreyu through to the door way.

"There it is," Lily said as she spotted the repository door where the apprentices' phylacteries were stored.

"Do you have the rod with you? Melt the locks off," Jowan urged. Atreyu slipped the rod out of the pocket of his robe and pointed it at the first lock. He frowned as nothing happen, not fire spilling out of the end of the rod, no feeling of magic channeling through him. Nothing at all. He could feel his magic under his skin, ready to be used, but it couldn't come forward like it was blocked.

"Ok," Atreyu said as he looked at the rod confused. "That didn't work out quite like I thought it would."

"What's the matter? Why isn't it working?" Lily asked worried. Atreyu pointed the rod at the second lock on the door but it was just the same as the first time.

"Something is going on here," Atreyu said as he finally lowered his arm.

"Lily, something not right," Jowan said. "I… can't cast spells here. Nothing works." Lily started to pace in front of the repository door for a moment then stopped to look closer at the symbols carved into the stone around the door. Atreyu quickly noticed and cursed softly under his breath as he realized they were runes.

"These wards carved into the stone… this must be the Templars' work," Lily said as she turned to the two mages. "They negate any magic cast within this area."

"Well this explains a lot," Atreyu said as he crossed his arms.

"I should have guessed," Lily agreed. "Why would Greagoir and Irving use simple keys for such a door? Because magical keys don't work! How do you keep mages away from something? Make their powers completely worthless! That's it then! We're finished! We can't get in."

"Calm down woman," Atreyu said. "There's got to be another way. What about that door? Where does it lead?"

"That door probably leads to another part of the repository," Jowan said. "What are the chances of there being another entrance?"

"Do you have a better idea?" Atreyu asked with a raised eyebrow. "We don't really have much of a choice here. It's either we search for another way in or those bastards will have their way with you."

"He's right, we're not about to give up," Lily agreed with Atreyu. "We can see where this door leads, but I don't think it'll be easy…. It looks locked, for one."

"I don't see any rune wards, I bet the rod of fire will work on _that_ lock," Atreyu said.

"Let's hurry… we've wasted enough time," Jowan said. Atreyu waved for them to head on, following behind his best friend and Lily.

"Hello? Someone out there?" A muffled male voice asked. Atreyu's sharp Elven hearing just picked up on the words and stopped with wide blue eyes as he quickly recognized the voice.

"Anders?" He asked quickly turning toward another door within the hallway. It was common knowledge that the Templars kept mages within a cell-like room within the repository near the room the phylacteries were kept when they were being punished. Sadly, Anders was the one who was locked up the most; the elder mage was constantly escaping the tower and being brought back by the Templars. Irving kept Anders from getting to badly punished, the First Enchanter favored Spirit Healers like Anders. It was yet another door that only Greagoir and Irving had the keys too. Jowan heard Atreyu and quickly rushed over to the Elf's side as Atreyu pressed his hands against the door.

"Atreyu?" Anders asked from within the room, his voice getting louder and clearer as he moved over to the door. "What are you doing down here?"

"Anders? What are you doing down here?" Jowan asked.

"Jowan too?" Anders asked amused. "Just what are you two up to?"

"Not that," Atreyu quickly hissed, glancing over at Lily but she was standing next to the locked door that lead further into the repository waiting on them. "We're trying to get into the room where our phylacteries are kept."

"Why? You should know you can't use magic on that door," Anders warned.

"Yeah, we know that now," Atreyu said dryly. "Anders, we've got to get into that room. They want to make Jowan tranquil! We've got to get in there and destroy that phylactery so he can escape." Atreyu heard Anders's take a sharp breath on the other side of the door.

"Tranquil…." Anders said softly. "Atreyu, Jowan there might be another way in…"

"How?" Jowan asked.

"Some of the walls might be weak inside the vault where they keep the old powerful artifacts," Anders said. "It's very damp down there, I noticed the last time I had to help one of the Senior Enchanters down there, and it might have eroded some of the stone walls. If you can find a weak wall that leads into the room where our phylacteries are stored…"

"Mine… mine isn't there anymore," Atreyu said softly. "I went through my Harrowing last night."

"Oh… I guess you made it to Circle Mage then," Anders said. "Well congratulations kiddo, you're certainly one of the more powerful mages in the tower. Maybe you'll be able to find your own way out now."

"I hope so," Atreyu said softly. "We've got to get you out of there."

"Yes! You could come with us!" Jowan agreed. "See if you can melt the locks."

"Whoa wait!" Anders said from the other side. "This door has the same wards as the phylactery door, you won't be able to use magic on it so save your strength. Just get Jowan out of the tower before they make him tranquil, I'll be out of here at some point and I'll come looking for you the next time I escape I promise."

"Anders are you sure?" Atreyu asked.

"Yes I'm sure," Anders's said. "Don't waste time on me, just go. If you can grab Silver on your way out do it otherwise I'll watch over her until we can escape again. You two just go and get out of here while you can, don't worry about me. Now go!" Atreyu and Jowan shared a look, neither of them wanted to leave their older friend in the cell but they were working on borrowed time as it was.

"I… thank you Anders," Jowan said at last. "I'll see you again one day I hope."

"Good luck you two," Anders said then Atreyu could hear him moving away from the door. He touched the worn wood again then turned away.

"Is everything alright?" Lily asked as Atreyu and Jowan rejoined her.

"Yes, just our friend trapped," Atreyu said. "He thinks there might be a way in we can use, we just need to get there." The Elven mage walked up to the door and pointed the fire rod at the lock. Almost at once he felt his magic flowing down his arm and into the rod, a steady stream of fire pouring from the rod into the lock. Soon the lock started glowing red hot then started to melt under the on slot of heat until it was too weak to continue to hold up and fell to the floor with a metal clang. Atreyu pocketed the rod again and pushed the door open.

"Oh that's not good," He heard Jowan said behind him and quickly turned to see the suit of armor they had passed come to life and attack them.

"Should have known it wouldn't be that easy," Atreyu said as he quickly swung his staff around to attack. The Sentinel guard quickly fell to their attacks, landing in a heap on the ground. "Well, keep a look out then, I doubt that will be the last of them."

* * *

"So what do you think of her?" Jowan asked Atreyu softly as they stopped to rest. The three teenagers had been fighting Sentinel guards left and right almost constantly since they began on this route and Atreyu felt a bit drained of his magic. The Elf looked down the corridor at Lily who was leaning against the wall resting with her eyes closed, her hands clasped in front of her no doubt praying to her so-called Maker.

"You want my honest opinion or just what you want to hear?" Atreyu said at last as he turned back toward Jowan.

"Don't be like that," Jowan said as he leaned against the wall next to his friend. "Lily is really nice, she's one of the sweetest girls I've ever met."

"I'm sure she is, when she's not bad mouthing magic," Atreyu said then sighed, reaching up to rub his forehead. "Just… why her? Why not…." He didn't finish his question but Jowan knew what the other meant to say. _'Why not me?'_

"It's not that I don't still care for you, Atreyu," Jowan said in a soft voice. "But Lily and I clicked… she never wanted to be given to the Chantry to be a Sister, she always wanted a family of her own but her parents thought this is the life she should lead. I've always wanted a family too, maybe when we escape we can go somewhere to start a farm."

"I just thought you had finally got one of the lady mages to notice you," Atreyu said. "I don't see how this is going to work out with her. She thinks magic is a curse, all that non-sense that the Chantry likes to sprout off about mages. How is she going to stand living with a mage?"

"Well… I'm going to give magic up," Jowan said. "I'm rubbish at magic anyway, I can never get the spells right."

"Give it up? Jowan, you can't just 'give up' magic," Atreyu said with a frown. "That's impossible, short of being made tranquil, you will always be a child of magic and any children you two have also have the possibility of being magical as well, it doesn't always skip a generation. And don't sell yourself short, you're better at spells that you think you are."

"Maybe but not as good as you," Jowan said. "You're the best in the tower." Atreyu snorted softly and shook his head.

"I am good but there are others who's got years on me," he pointed out. "Come on, your Chantry girl had seem have finally rested, we should move on." Jowan nodded and pushed away from the wall, hurrying over to Lily's side. Atreyu watched him with a sad look in his eyes, just for a moment imagining how things _could_ have been, then shook his head. It did him no good to dwell on things like this, it only caused him heart break. He walked past the happy couple, leading the way toward the last room of the basement level of the tower.

Inside Atreyu glanced around with wide curious eyes, taking in all the old magical artifacts lying around that were deemed too dangerous by the Chantry and the Templars to be used by anyone but at the same time shouldn't be destroyed. The Elf had never been down here before, part of him wanted to explore just a bit, too see what they were hiding down here in this damp old room. But he knew they couldn't and time was running short for them.

"I think the storage room for the phylacteries is on the other side of this wall!" Jowan called loudly from across the room. Atreyu and Lily quickly joined Jowan where he was waiting next to a shelf full of potion bottles. Atreyu moved some of the bottles to the side to get a better look, Anders was right the wall looked weak here.

"Anders was right," Atreyu said. "Help me move the shelf Jowan." The two young men each grabbed a side, pushing and pulling the heavy shelf out of the way. The bottles on each level shook and rattled as they were moved but luckily none of them fell off. Once the shelf was out of the way Atreyu pressed his hands against the damp stone wall. "It would take too long to knock the wall out by ourselves, we have to find something to destroy it."

"What about the rod of fire?" Jowan asked. Atreyu shook his head as he turned away from the wall and started looking around the vault.

"I won't be able to channel enough magic into it to do much damage to the wall," he said. Something in the corner of the room caught his eye and a smile crossed his face. "But I think that might!" He pointed at what appeared to be an old statue of a wolf.

"What is it?" Lily asked as Atreyu and Jowan rushed over to the statue to pull it over in front of the wall.

"It's an old Elven artifact," Atreyu explained. "It was created by the Elves of old to magnify spells so if we point it just like so… and place the rod of fire on top of it…" The Elven mage channeled his magic through the rod, grinning as the fire that poured out of the end stronger and hotter than usual. The wall held up against the flame for only a few seconds before exploding, the ground shaking under their feet.

"You did it!" Jowan cheered. Atreyu chuckled and tossed the rod of fire away, the over powered spell had burnt the rod out and was how a useless hunk of wood.

"Come on," Atreyu said as he lead the way through the hole he made.

"This is the phylactery chamber!" Jowan said as they entered the room on the other side. Atreyu looked around, the room was covered in tables and small shelves, he could see the room's only door to the right side of him, that were covered in vials of blood, each one with an name etched on the front. The floor was freezing cold and the floor covered with a thick white fog.

"We must find Jowan's phylactery quickly," Lily said.

"It's a pity they've taken mine to Denerim already," Atreyu said sourly as he eyed the rows of blood filled phylacteries in the room. Oh how he wished his was still in the room, he would have loved to smash his alongside Jowan's.

"You can still escape with us," Lily said. "You're clever."

"I'm going to have to leave either way," Atreyu said. "They're going to figure out I helped you two when they discovered you've gone. Let's look around, Jowan's vial has got to be here somewhere."

As soon as they stepped further into the room, three Sentinels sprung to life, one of them must more power than all the rest they had encountered before. While Jowan and Lily took care of the weaker Sentinels, Atreyu attacked the stronger one using some of his favorite spells to cut it down, fire and ice flying around him in a dizzy dance of magic.

"Let's find that vial and get out of here," Atreyu said between pants as the Sentinels went down. "These names are the younger apprentices; the older ones must be up the stairs."

They quickly ran up the stairs up a higher level in the room, looking for Jowan's phylactery among the many vials of blood. Atreyu also looked for Anders and Silver's phylacteries, hoping for find them as well since he knew his own wasn't here. He absently wondered if the Templars even bothered to keep Anders's phylactery with the rest since the older man escaped the tower so often.

"Jowan," Atreyu called when he came across a vial with Jowan's name etched on the front. Jowan rushed over to his side, tears of happiness in his eyes.

"That's my phylactery!" Jowan said as he took the vial from Atreyu, turning away from his two partners in crime to look at it in the soft light of the room. "You found it. I can't believe this tiny vial stands between me and freedom."

Atreyu watched as Jowan held the vial out in front of him, the human almost giddy over what he was about to do.

"So fragile, so easy to just be rid to it… to end its hold over me…" Jowan said softly. He started at the phylactery a second longer then opened his fingers, letting the vial slipped through them to fall on the stone floor at his feet. The vial struck the stone, shattering into what seemed million of pieces and Jowan's blood spread out over the floor, creeping into the cracks and holes. "… and I am free."

"That was almost anti-climatic after all we've just gone through," Atreyu mused. He didn't know what to expect, a flare of magic when the vial had been destroyed, Templars swooping out of the stone work, or even something harder to break the very thing the Templars worked so hard to protect so they could hunt down mages that escaped the tower. But no, all it had taken was the vial to be dropped on the floor and suddenly Jowan no long had to worry about being tracked down.

"I'm glad of it," Lily said. She was ready to get out of this tower and start her new life with Jowan.

"Come on, you two," Jowan said over his shoulder. "We're done here, we should leave."

"I do not want to stay here a moment longer," Lily agreed.

"Who would? This place is creepy," Atreyu agreed. "And cold," he added with a shiver as he rubbed his arms. He headed toward the door, testing to see if it could be open from the inside as he didn't want to backtrack all the way around the basement, and was pleasantly surprised when the door opened with a burst of magic as the ward broke. "Let's get out of here, hopefully no one is guarding the front door and you two can slip out."

Atreyu stopped for a moment to look toward the door where Anders was kept then shook his head, he knew there was nothing he could do for the human mage for now. But hopefully soon….

"Come on," Jowan said as he grabbed Atreyu's arm and pulled him toward the door. Atreyu sighed and quickly followed the other two.

* * *

"We did it!" Jowan called happily as they exited the stairwell to the basement. He was grinning widely, he was free, able to leave this blasted tower with his Lily and start a new life. He didn't know where they would go, he didn't think Lily would enjoy living in the Korcari Wilds and he wasn't even sure if his family would accept him anymore, but anywhere was fine as long as he was with Lily. "I can't believe it! Thank you… we could never have-" he turned to face his best friend the large grin on his face then stopped as he noticed the panicked look on Atreyu's face as the Elf stared at something behind them.

"So what you said was true, Irving," Greagoir said as he, Irving and a group of Templars walked up to them. Jowan quickly spun around, a panicked look on his face matching Atreyu's. No no no, not when he was so close to getting out!

"Oh this isn't good…" Atreyu said under his breath. Damn, he had hoped Greagoir wouldn't have heard about them breaking into the chamber just yet, giving Lily and Jowan, and likely himself, time to escape.

"G-Greagoir," Lily stammered at seeing the Knight-Commander. Greagoir turned to Lily, a cross disappointed look on his face.

"An initiate, conspiring with a blood mage. I'm disappointed, Lily," Greagoir said making Lily look down at her feet and wring her hands in front of her like a small child. "She seems shocked, but fully in control of her own mind. Not a thrall of the blood mage, then." Greagoir turned and walked back toward Irving. "You were right, Irving. The initiate has betrayed us. The Chantry will not let this go unpunished."

Atreyu snorted and rolled his eyes, the Chantry just loved getting into peoples' lives too much. The snort drew Greagoir's attention to the Elf.

"And this one, newly a mage, and already flouting the rules of the Circle," Greagoir said as he walked closer to Atreyu, pointing his finger at the silver hair mage. Atreyu's back stiffened and he glared at the Templar in anger. Jowan's hands closed into fists, he didn't like the way Greagoir spoke to Lily or to Atreyu. Atreyu was just trying to help them like a good friend and Lily… well she was helping a Blood Mage but he would _never_ do anything to hurt her!

"I am disappointed in you child," Irving said as he frowned at Atreyu. Atreyu lifted his chin in defiance. "You could have come to me."

"You were going to let my best friend be made Tranquil… the only person I am close to in this hell hole," Atreyu hissed. "All because _somebody_ claims he's a Blood Mage, you didn't even give him a chance!" Irving sighed and shook his head, the boy didn't even know…

"It's not his fault!" Jowan said as he moved to stand protectively in front of Atreyu and Lily. "This was my idea!"

"Enough!" Greagoir said. "As Knight-Commander of the Templars here assembled, I sentence this blood mage to death." He pointed at Jowan when he said this. "This initiate has scorned the Chantry and her vows. She will be taken to Aeonar. As for the mage, chain him in Mage Bane and throw him into a cell." The Templars started toward the trio, Atreyu's hands starting to light up with a fire spell, he wasn't going down without a fight.

"The… the mages' prison. No…" Lily started to back away in fear. "No… please, no. Not there!" Jowan's dark eyes widen, they were going to take Lily and Atreyu, the two people he cared about the most.

"NO!" Jowan held out his arms protectively in front of Lily and Atreyu, causing Atreyu to stop his spell casting in surprise. "I won't let you touch them!" Jowan grabbed a small dagger from a pouch on his hip and stabbed his hand, ignoring the pain as the warm red blood gushed from the wound; he gathered the magic all around him in a blood red aura. Lily slowly backed away her eyes wide in shock while Atreyu stepped back a couple of feet. The Elven mage couldn't believe it… Jowan really was….

Jowan looked up at the Templars and Irving, anger and hate in his eyes. He pulled the dagger out of his hand and pushed the magic he gathered at them, knocking all them out. Jowan panted heavily, his chest heavily with each breath.

"By the Maker…. blood magic!" Lily said a horrified tremor in her voice as she backed away from Jowan. "H-how could you? You said you never…"

"I admit, I… I dabbled!" Jowan said turning to face his love. "I thought it would make me a better mage!" He had hoped using a little blood magic would boost his own mana, making him stronger and on the same level as Atreyu. He loved his best friend but sometimes he was a little jealous of the Elf who was so much better at magic than him… or at least tried to be jealous, Atreyu was always encouraging him and helping him with his spells but still, he wanted to try and be on his friend's level.

"Blood magic is evil, Jowan," Lily said with a shake of her head, still back away from Jowan. "It corrupts people…. Changes them…" Jowan was starting to see why Atreyu always got annoyed when people spoke so harshly about magic, he never planned on using blood magic for evil….

"I'm going to give it up. All magic," Jowan said, why couldn't she see he did this for his love for her. "I just want to be with you, Lily. Please, come with me…"

"I trusted you," Lily said softly. "I was ready to sacrifice everything for you… I… I don't know who you are, blood mage. Stay away from me…" She pointed toward the entrance of the tower. Jowan looked at her sadly, knowing he had lost the one girl he loved. He turned his head to look at Atreyu who was looking at him with betrayal and a deep look of sadness.

"Why Jowan?" Atreyu asked very softly.

"I-I'm sorry Atreyu," Jowan said just as softly. "I am so sorry I…" he shook his head and turned, running for the front door and out of the Tower of Magi.

* * *

Author note: Whew, finally finished with the two origin stories for the most part, can't believe Raziel's only took one but Atreyu's ended up being two. Now that we're heading out of the tower next chapter, things will really start to pick up!


	4. Chapter 4

Wilder Wardens

Author: USA Tiger

Disclaimer: The Dragon Age series is the property of BioWare.

Author Note: Thanks goes out to my beta and head minion Asilyessam who checks behind me for grammar and spelling mistakes and checks that my lore is correct.

Chapter 4

Atreyu watched Jowan leave, rooted to the spot, not able to bring himself to stop the other mage from leaving. He couldn't believe it; Jowan really had turned to blood magic. He shook his head, he was such a damn fool, he couldn't believe that he had been so blind as to miss that Jowan had dabbled in blood magic. Why didn't the other tell him? He could have stopped Jowan from going down that path!

Sighing and shaking his head again, Atreyu walked over to Irving to check on the elderly man. Kneeling in front of his mentor, Atreyu used the little big of healing magic he knew to help the human recover. Irving moaned and lifted his head to look up at his student.

"Are you alright?" Irving asked.

"I'm fine," Atreyu said. "He didn't even try to hurt me."

"Where's Greagoir?" Irving asked as Atreyu helped him to stand.

"I knew it… blood magic," Greagoir answered for himself as he picked himself off the floor, his voice laced in disgust. "But to overcome so many… I never thought him capable of such power…"

"He lied to me," Atreyu said still feeling betrayed. "He told me he wasn't a blood mage…"

"None of us expected this," Irving assured Atreyu. "Are you alright, Greagoir?"

"As good as can be expected given the circumstances!" Greagoir yelled in anger. "If you had let me act sooner, this would not have happened! Now we have a blood mage on the loose and no way to track him down!"

Atreyu bit his lip, even if Jowan was a blood mage, something in him couldn't bring himself to say anything against his friend. He guessed it was lingering loyalty to the person he had cared for the most in the tower.

"Where is the girl?" Greagoir asked as he remembered Lily.

"I… I am here, ser," Lily said from beside the stairwell.

"You helped a blood mage! Look at all he's hurt!" Greagoir yelled as he stomped over to Lily.

"She didn't know Jowan was a blood mage," Atreyu said jumping to the defense of the girl. He may not have been too fond of her but like him Jowan had lied and tricked her.

"You've been a good friend but I can speak for myself," Lily told Atreyu gently then turned back to Greagoir. "Knight-Commander… I… I was wrong. I will accomplice to a… a blood mage. I will accept whatever punishment you see fit. Even… even Aeonar."

"Get her out of my sight," Greagoir said as he turned his back on the girl. Two of the Templars that recovered quickly grabbed Lily's arms and lead her away.

"And you," Greagoir said, marching up to Atreyu and pointing a finger in the Elf's face. "You were in a repository full of magics that were locked away for a reason."

"Did you take anything important from the repository?" Irving asked.

"I didn't take anything from that room," Atreyu said. "There was nothing I wanted anyway."

"But your actions have made a mockery of this Circle! Ah… what are we to do with you?" Greagoir asked throwing his hands into the air.

"I had no idea Jowan was a blood mage," Atreyu defended himself. "I only wanted to help him! He's one of the only three people who I care about in this tower, the only one I was close to and you were going to make him Tranquil! Of course I was going to help him escape if that meant he could escape that hell! And you know what, I would do it again even knowing what I know now! It's people like you Greagoir that drive mages into learning blood magic if it means they have a chance of getting away from the Templars and the Chantry!"

"Child, you don't know what you speak of," Irving said with a shake of his head. Atreyu seethed in anger, he hated being brushed off, the Chantry was not all knowing about magic. His people had been using magic far longer than humans, the amount of blood mages and abomination didn't rise up to the numbers they were now until after the Chantry started and these stupid 'Circle of Magi' came into being. You were far more likely to find a blood mage or abomination in the towers than by an apostate mage, being free and able to use their magic as they wish meant they didn't attract the demons as much.

"Dirthara-ma," Atreyu spat at both of them.

Irving sighed and turned to his Templar counterpart. "Greagoir, Atreyu has been misguided and tricked by Jowan, one mistake shouldn't work against him."

"And this improves the situation?" Greagoir asked in disbelief, even now the man was defending his pet Elf. "The phylactery chamber is forbidden to all save you and me! How are we to deal with this?"

"Knight-Commander, if I may… I am not only looking for mages to join the king's army, I am also recruiting for the Grey Wardens."

* * *

Duncan sighed softly to himself as he and Raziel walked down the stairs to the first floor of the tower to leave. Greagoir had refused to budge on allowing more Mages to join the army at Ostagar, the stubborn fool. He had also yet to see the young Elven mage Atreyu again, he was considering asking the youth to join the Grey Wardens, having two promising recruits would help bolster their numbers.

"What's that yelling?" Raziel asked as he stopped and tilted his head to the side. His sharp Elven hearing had picked up on the sound of yells from down the corridor the opposite direction of the front doors. Duncan stopped as well and listened; he could just faintly hear the yelling and turned to investigate.

"Young man, what is going on?" He asked an apprentice standing just outside the doorway.

"One of the apprentices Jowan is a blood mage and has escaped the tower," The boy said. "The new mage Atreyu helped him escape."

"I see," Duncan moved to stand in the doorway Raziel following behind them. Duncan listened to Atreyu yell at Greagoir at how he would have still helped this Jowan even knowing he was a blood mage and had to admire the loyalty the youth showed. He was able to move past the image of a blood mage, still willing to help his friend, then perhaps he would easily accept what the Grey Wardens did. When Greagoir asked what they were to do with Atreyu, Duncan saw his chance, he couldn't let this promising young Mage slip through his fingers. Raziel nearly giggled as Atreyu spat an Elven curse at the two humans.

"Knight-Commander, if I may… I am not only looking for mages to join the king's army, I am also recruiting for the Grey Wardens," Duncan said as he approached the group, coming to a stop by Atreyu's side. "Irving spoke highly of this mage, and I would like him to join the Warden ranks."

"What!?" Greagoir yelled. "You've promised him a new Grey Warden?"

"Yes but now I wonder… Duncan, Atreyu has helped a blood mage to escape the tower," Irving said.

"I heard the argument," Duncan admitted. "Atreyu is very dedicated to his friend and we look for dedication in our recruits. Fighting the Darkspawn requires such dedication, often at the expense of all else."

"I object," Greagoir protested. "This Mage shall be punished for his part in helping the blood mage. I will _not_ release this mage to the Grey Warden." Atreyu growled softly, his blue eyes shining in anger.

"If Duncan and the Grey Wardens will have me, I will gladly go," Atreyu butted in. He wanted out of this damn tower, he wanted away from the Templars and Greagoir who wanted to do gods only know what to him for helping Jowan even though he hadn't know Jowan had turned blood mage. He already expressed an interest in becoming a Warden to Duncan earlier that day and he would be damned if he let this chance slip away from him.

"Greagoir, mages are needed. This mage is needed," Duncan said calmly. "Worse things plague this world that blood mages – you know that. I take this young mage under my wing and bare all responsibility for his actions."

"This mage does not deserve a place in the Order!" Greagoir thundered, he was not about to let this Grey Warden take this mage. The mage would be punished for what he did, he was leaning toward making the boy Tranquil, maybe force him to work around the Templar's level of the tower before sending him to Aeonar.

"I do not think we have much of a choice Greagoir," Irving said in an amused tone. Even as disappointed as he was in Atreyu, he still had a great deal of fondness for the Elf and did not wish to see him punished for his mistake. The boy honestly didn't know Jowan had been a blood mage, he thought he was only helping his friend. He turned toward his student, giving Atreyu a gentle smile. "You have an opportunity few even dream of. Do not squander it."

Atreyu bowed his head, while part of him still felt betrayed by the man for agreeing to make Jowan Tranquil he now understood why. He didn't fully agree with it, he was sure Jowan could have been helped if the stubborn human had talked to him.

"Thank you First Enchanter," Atreyu said.

"Come, your new life awaits," Duncan said touching Atreyu's arm.

"Duncan, can you give me a couple of minutes," Atreyu asked as they neared the door. "I have a few things in my trunk I do not wish to leave behind."

"Yes, but be quick about it," Duncan said. Atreyu nodded and jogged away to the apprentice dorms where his things were still in the trunk at the end of his old bed. He didn't take much, some of the potions and salves he created, a couple of books he stole from the library he had no plans of returning and he drew out a box at the bottom of the trunk. Opening it he took out a necklace made out of a leather cord that had a piece of amber hanging from it. He slid the necklace on over his head then took out a flute made out of river cane as well, placing it in a pocket, turned to leave.

"Atreyu!" A blue blur knocked into Atreyu before he could move. "Atreyu-Atreyu-Atreyu," the blur chanted. Atreyu sighed and smiled.

"Yes Silver?" he asked the blur that was really a girl with fair skin, long black hair and bright green eyes.

"You're leaving me," Silver Amell said with a sniff as she hugged her 'big brother' tightly. "Everyone is talking, they said Jowan is a blood mage and now you're leaving to join the Grey Wardens." Atreyu sighed, sometimes he couldn't believe how fast the news spread around the tower, he just agreed to join the Grey Wardens, how the heck did Silver hear about it so fast!?

"Yes lethallan, I'm leaving to be a Grey Warden," Atreyu confirmed. Silver sniffed and tightened her hug around Atreyu's waist. She was a couple of years younger than Atreyu, being the age 17. She originally came from Kirkwall to the north and had come to Ferelden with her mother when she was really young. Her family were mostly made up of mages, making the noble family of Amells a strong line of magic users. Sadly, Silver's mother had been killed by bandits and Silver taken to the Chantry. The girl mentioned a few times she had family living in Ferelden but couldn't remember their family name and when Silver was discovered to be a mage it hadn't mattered anyway as she had been sent straight to the Tower of Magi.

While now Silver was a happy and perky teenager, when she came to the tower she had been shy and withdrawn. She latched onto Atreyu and Jowan after they stopped some of the older girls from teasing her. Atreyu liked her and considered her a good friend, there was something about her green eyes that reminded him of someone else he knew…. Silver also adored Anders, to the point that Atreyu was sure she was in love with the older mage.

"Silver, you and Anders look out for each other once he's out of that fucking cell," Atreyu whispered as he hugged the girl. "And be careful, if anything happens, as much as I hate to say this, run to Cullen if Anders isn't around, you know he'll protect you." The young Templar had a crush on Silver and would do anything to keep her safe.

"Oh just be careful big brother," Silver said giving him a final squeeze then letting him go. Atreyu smiled and leaned in close.

"Just keep up your studies and kick ass at your Harrowing. One day I'll make sure you and Anders are out of this hell hole for good," He whispered, kissing her on the cheek before leaving.

"Are you ready?" Duncan asked as Atreyu rejoined him and Raziel.

"Yes, I'm ready to go now," Atreyu agreed.

Once outside of the tower Atreyu breathed a huge breath of fresh air, he hadn't been outside in years and couldn't be happier to feel the sunlight on his face once again.

"It was pretty bad wasn't it," Raziel said softly as they climbed into the boat waiting on them, Atreyu wondered how Jowan got across the lake.

"Hmm?" Atreyu turned to face the younger Elf in the boat with him. Raziel blushed slightly and fiddled with his bow.

"Being in that tower… away from the sun and wind… away from the forest…" Raziel shuddered slightly. "I was only in there for less than a day and I couldn't stand it."

"Yes, it was bad," Atreyu agreed. "Elves are not meant to live in stone towers so far away from the ground. I don't see how the other Elves in the tower could stand it. I'm sorry, who are you?"

"I'm Raziel, from the Saber Clan," Raziel said very happy to be speaking to another Elf, one who felt the same way he did.

"You can call me Atreyu," Atreyu said with a smile.

"I know… Duncan told me your name," Raziel admitted "He said… he said that you're not a Dalish Elf… so what do your vallaslin mean?"

"My vallaslin?" Atreyu repeated. "Oh, you mean my tattoos. They're not blood writing, my facial markings are just regular ink. I trick a couple of the younger Templars into getting my marks a couple of years ago."

"Oh… well do they mean anything? They don't represent any of the Creators do they?" Raziel asked.

"It's sort of a family mark," Atreyu said. "My Ada had similar markings, and so does my grandfather."

"Oh," Raziel looked down at his lap, he wasn't sure what to talk to this strange Elf about. He wasn't a Dalish but Raziel didn't think he was a City Elf either. Atreyu studied the younger Elf beside him, the younger teen was utterly adorable with wide honey toned eyes and silky looking black hair. Raziel had an essence of innocents about him that made Atreyu want to wrap the other up in a tight hug. He was also the first half-way sensible Elf Atreyu had seen in years. The other Elves in the tower had been quiet meek things, keeping to themselves and out of the way of the humans of the tower. Raziel on the other hand, even with the air of innocents, looked like he could handle himself easily. The Dalish handled his bow like he knew how to use it and Atreyu had a feeling those two daggers on the other's back wasn't just for show.

There was something else that worried Atreyu as he studied Raziel. The younger Elf was sickly pale yet his cheeks were flushed and watching the other closely he could see him shaking slightly. Reaching up with a hand, Atreyu pressed it against Raziel's forehead, startling the younger Elf who then closed his eyes with a sigh and leaned into Atreyu's cool touch.

"You're burning up," Atreyu said softly.

"I'm sick with a Darkspawn plague," Raziel said. "I had to leave my clan because of it, Duncan says he knows of a cure otherwise I will die."

"You don't look like you'll last long on your feet," Atreyu said, already he was running through his mind any herbs he could use to try and bring the other's fever down and try to ease the boy's pain. The boat docked and Atreyu helped Raziel out of the boat. Raziel gave Atreyu a small smile, clinging to the older boy for a moment as his head spun. "He's not going to be able to go much further," Atreyu said to Duncan as he held Raziel up.

"I know, I was hoping he might rest a bit in the tower while I spoke to Irving and Greagoir but it seems it only put him in edge," Duncan said in worry. "Can you walk a little further Raziel? We need to make some distance before making camp."

"I'm fine," Raziel said as the dizzy spell passed and he was able to stand up on his own. "I can make it." Duncan nodded and motioned for the pair of Elves to follow. Atreyu started forward then hesitated, looking back over the lake toward the tower he lived in for 10 years. He narrowed his eyes and slid the ring given to him by Irving off his finger, hurling it into the lake. "Why did you do that?" Raziel asked as Atreyu turned back to follow Duncan.

"That place is a prison, it took 10 years of my life," Atreyu said softly as he and Raziel walked. "I never wanted to be a Circle Mage, I just wanted to go home. I don't want the reminder." Raziel thought it over and nodded in understanding. If he was a prisoner in a tower like that he wouldn't want the reminder either.

* * *

As they traveled, Atreyu kept an eye on Raziel. They had to stop a couple of times to let the Dalish teen catch his breath, both Atreyu and Duncan worried at how sick he was. Duncan hoped they were in time to reach Ostagar and get Raziel through the joining. Atreyu left the path several times to gather herbs he saw, storing them carefully in his pouch.

"I believe we should stop for the night and make camp here," Duncan said as the sun started to go down. Raziel breathed a sigh of relief and sat down on a nearby tree stump. His two companions let him rest as they built a fire pit, Atreyu using his magic to start the fire.

Sitting close to the fire, Raziel watched as Atreyu started to boil a few herb leaves in a small pot.

"What is that?" He asked as he wrinkled his nose, it didn't smell good.

"Something to make you feel better," Atreyu said as he carefully poured the tea he brewed into a small cup then moved to sit next to Raziel. The younger Elf tried to hold the cup but his hands were shaking too badly to hold it on his own.

"You learned this from your clan?" Duncan asked.

"Tribe is what we call it but yes, my Ada taught me. He was the tribe's shaman," Atreyu said. "Come on fawn, here we go, drink it slowly." He held Raziel's hands between his own as he helped the other to hold the cup and drink the bitter tasting tea.

"Yuck," Raziel said sticking his tongue out once the cup was drained.

"I know, doesn't taste very good does it," Atreyu said with a smile. He put the cup to the side and let Raziel lay down with his head in his lap as the tea worked its magic. Raziel sighed as his body started to slowly relax, closing his eyes as Atreyu started to run his fingers through his hair. Duncan watched impressed with what Atreyu was able to do. The taint was still there within Raziel but was slowly receding back to the level it had been when Raziel's clan Keeper had used her Elven healing spells on the youth.

"Amazing," Duncan said.

"It's not a permanent fix but he'll feel better at least," Atreyu said. Raziel sighed in agreement, he could feel the pain slowly going away and his stomach was starting to feel better. Atreyu smiled softly happy to see some color come back to the other Elf's pale face while he played with the other's hair. He was starting to think Raziel had fallen asleep when the other spoke up.

"Ma serannas Atreyu," Raziel said softly as he sat up, drawing his knees up to his chest. "For helping me."

"You're welcome fawn," Atreyu said with a smile. "But how did you even get sick like this to start with?" A great look of sadness passed Raziel's face as he thought about Tamlen. Atreyu saw the look and laid his hand on his new friend's arm. "I'm sorry, if it's painful to speak of…"

"No, it's fine," Raziel said. "A group of humans in the forest near where our clan was camping told us, myself and my friend Tamlen, of a cave they had found with ruins inside. They found this inside before they were chased off by what they thought was a demon." The Dalish reached into his pack where he had discovered a few days ago he still had the stone with the Elvish writing. He passed it to Atreyu who studied it in the fire light.

"It looks like a eulogy," Atreyu said after a moment. Raziel blinked and moved to look over Atreyu's shoulder.

"You can read it?" He asked. "You can read Elven?"

"Yes, can't you?" Atreyu asked. Raziel blushed and ducked his head slightly.

"Only the Keepers and their Firsts and Seconds are allowed to learn ancient Elvish writing, but sweet Merrill taught me a little bit. But not enough to understand what the stone says."

"I learned how to read and write in Elvish back home. I had to be taught how to write and read in the human's common word when I was brought to the tower," Atreyu said. "I only knew a little before, my best friend Shadow taught me. Would you like to know what the stone says?"

"Yes please," Raziel gushed.

"' Fly my dearest... as the friend of Falon'din guides you... my heart is laced with despair at your passing... till Falon'din claims me as well... know that my heart will always be yours... Fen...'," Atreyu read out loud, his finger following along under the words he could make out. "I'm sorry, that's all I can make out, time has chipped away the rest of the words."

"That's alright, just to hear that little bit…" Raziel carefully took the stone back when Atreyu held it out to him and put it back in his bag.

"So I'm guessing you and your friend went to this ruins?" Atreyu asked. Raziel sighed sadly and nodded his head, his hands balled up in his lap.

"I should have made Tamlen leave, I felt like there was something _wrong_ with those ruins but I let him talk me into exploring. We found a bunch of Elvin artifacts but the ruins look like they were built by humans. We even found a statue for the Creator Falon'din," Raziel's words caught in his throat for a second as he remembered what happen next. "T-then we found a chamber deep inside the ruins and were attacked by a strange bear. It was covered in spikes and almost killed Tamlen but I killed the bear before it could get him. I thought Tamlen would finally leave the ruins with me but that Creator's damned mirror!" Raziel sobbed softly, pressing his hands to his face. Atreyu drew the sobbing Elf into his arms, letting Raziel curl up against him and cry into his chest.

"Mirror?" Atreyu asked Duncan while he rocked Raziel gently.

"Raziel and his friend Tamlen discovered a Tevinter Mirror within the ruins," Duncan explained. "It had become tainted with Darkspawn and when this Tamlen touched it he and Raziel were infected. The mirror allowed Darkspawn to flood the ruins and the forest outside of it, Raziel is lucky he survived."

"That sounds like an Eluvian!" Atreyu exclaimed.

"Eluvian?" Duncan repeated.

"Yes, our ancestors created them," Atreyu explained.

"S-so the mirror we found really was an Elven artifact?" Raziel asked softly. When Atreyu nodded Raziel sighed sadly. "So Tamlen was right…"

"I'm sorry fawn," Atreyu said rubbing Raziel's back. "They were created a long time ago as portals, they exist all over our world, each leads to a space between the Fade and the waking world. Think of it as a crossroads, then you can take a different portal to another part of the world."

"Interesting… the Tevinter Impreium must have claimed them as their own," Duncan said rubbing his chin. "But I had not heard of the ability to travel to different mirrors, they use them for communication."

"Thank the gods for that, I hate to think of those Shemlens being able to use the Eluvians as they were intended and get to other parts of the world," Atreyu said. "What happen to the Eluvian you found?" He asked Raziel.

"Duncan broke it," Raziel said. "Myself and my two clan mates came looking for Tamlen and found Duncan with the mirror… he said Tamlen is dead and I told him to destroy it."

"That maybe for the best," Atreyu said with a sigh. "If the Eluvian was tainted, better that it be destroyed than infect other nearby Eluvians in the crossroads. So many were tainted already from what I remember…"

"We couldn't even find Tamlen's body," Raziel said, his heart in pain as another sob escaped. "We couldn't return him to the ground…"

"I'm sorry fawn, if the mirror really was an Eluvian… your friend might have fallen through it to the other side," Atreyu said softly.

"D-do you think he might still be alive then?" Raziel asked hopefully as he looked up at Atreyu. His face fell when Atreyu shook his head.

"I doubt it fawn, if he fell through a tainted mirror, it would be like falling into a pool of pure Darkspawn taint," Atreyu said. "Even a Grey Warden would have a problem surviving that."

"Oh…" Raziel said softly as his hopes were dashed. He pressed his face against Atreyu's chest, one hand fisted in the mage's robes while Atreyu continued to hold him. Duncan turned his head away, letting Atreyu comfort the grieving Raziel in some peace.

* * *

"So what is Ostagar?" Raziel asked as he and Atreyu trailed after Duncan a couple of days later. They walked next to a large set of ruins he had seen earlier that day. The trio had been constantly traveling since leaving the Tower of Magi, only stopping to eat or sleep at night. Atreyu made Raziel the special tea to keep his Darkspawn sickness at bay when they stopped as the taint kept coming back quickly within a few hours. He was grateful to the older Elf, Atreyu took care of him every time he started to get sick again and spent time with him. He still missed his clan greatly but the Elven mage eased some of the hurt from being away from the only family he knew.

"It's some old ruins on the edge of the swamp," Atreyu said. "I've never been there but I use to see it all the time when Ada and I traveled to Lothering to trade."

"The Tevinter Imperium built Ostagar long ago to prevent the Wilders from invading the northern lowlands. It's still fitting we make our stand here, even if we face a different foe within that forest. The king's forces have clashed with the Darkspawn several times, but here is where the bulk of the horde will show itself."

"So just how many Grey Wardens are here anyway?" Atreyu asked. Duncan sighed and looked up into the sky as he thought it over.

"There are only a few Grey Wardens within Ferelden at the moment, but all of us are here," he admitted after a moment as they walked under a large archway. "This Blight must be stopped here and now. If it spreads to the north, Ferelden will fall."

"Ho there, Duncan!" A man's voice called out happily. Atreyu and Raziel peered around Duncan to see a tall human with shoulder length golden blond hair and wearing gold plated armor walk up with two other guards following him. He reached out to grasp Duncan's hand with a smile. (1)

"King Cailan?" Duncan asked in shock, reaching out to meet the other man's hand. Raziel tilted his head to the side while Atreyu just watched with a raised eyebrow. "I didn't expect-"

"A royal welcome?" The man Cailan asked amused. "I was beginning to worry that you'd miss all the fun!"

"No if I could help it, your Majesty," Duncan assured the king. Cailan grinned and turned so he was side-by-side with Duncan.

"Then I'll have the mighty Duncan at my side in battle after all! Glorious!" Cailan exclaimed then turned back to face the elder man and the two Elves. "The other Wardens told me you found a pair of promising recruits. I take it this is them?" Cailan asked as he looked over at Atreyu and Raziel.

"Allow me to introduce you, your Majesty," Duncan offered.

"No need to be so formal, Duncan. We'll be shedding blood together, after all," Cailan said as he moved over to stand in front of the two Elves, smiling down at both of them. "Ho there, friends! Might I know your names?"

"I am Atreyu Surana your Majesty," Atreyu said with a slight bow. He didn't think much the human, he seemed to a little full of himself and stuck on the idea of a battle that would be told for ages. Still it wouldn't do to snub the human king.

"I'm Raziel," Raziel said with a small wave.

"Pleased to meet you!" Cailan said. "The Grey Wardens are desperate to bolster their numbers, and I, for one, am glad to help them." He looked at Atreyu, taking in the Elven youths mage robes. "I understand you hail from the Circle of Magi? I trust you have some spells to help us in the coming battle?"

"Of course Sire, I'm told my fire spells pack quite a punch," Atreyu said with a smirk.

"Excellent. We have too few mages here, another is always welcome," Cailan said then turned to Raziel. "And you, you are Dalish are you not? I hear your people possess remarkable skill and honor."

"I thought Shemlens considered us dangerous vagrants," Raziel couldn't help but say in surprise, his hands flying up to his mouth after the words passed his lips.

"To be far, your people can be a bit… standoffish," Cailan said. "Not that I blame them, of course. I tell you this: you are very welcome here. The Grey Wardens will benefit greatly with you amongst them. Both of you," he added looking back at Atreyu with a smile.

"Thank you, your Majesty," Atreyu answered for both of them. Cailan smiled at both Elves then sighed.

"I'm sorry to cut this short, but I should return to my tent," Cailan said. "Loghain waits eagerly to bore me with his strategies."

"Gee, sounds like a fate worse than death," Atreyu said dryly, drawing a chuckle out of Cailan.

"Your uncle sends his greetings and reminds you that Redcliffe forces could be here in less than a week," Duncan said.

"Ha! Eamon just wants in on the glory," Cailan said with amusement. "We've won three battles against these monsters and tomorrow should be no different."

"You sound confident about that," Atreyu said.

"Overconfident, some would say," Cailan said with a laugh. "Right, Duncan?" Duncan sighed and shook his head.

"Your Majesty, I'm not certain the blight can be ended quite as… quickly as you might wish," he warned.

"I'm not even sure this is a true blight," Cailan said as he turned and walked a few feet away. "There are plenty of Darkspawn on the field, but alas, we've seen no sign of an Archdemon."

"Disappointed, your Majesty?" Duncan asked.

"I'd hoped for a war like in the tales! A king riding with the fabled Grey Wardens against a tainted god!" Cailan admitted as he turned back around to face the group. "But I suppose this will have to do. I must go before Loghain sends out a search party. Farewell, Grey Wardens!" Atreyu and Raziel crossed their arms over their chests and bowed slightly at the waist as Cailan and his two Knights left. Duncan sighed and walked back over to his two recruits.

"What the king said is true, they've won several battles against the Darkspawn here," he told the two Elven teens, waving his hand for them to walk with him again.

"Yet you don't share his opinion on this not being a blight," Atreyu observed as he and Raziel walked side by side with Duncan.

"Despite the victories so far, the Darkspawn horde grows larger with each passing day," Duncan informed them. "By now, they look to outnumber us."

"Sounds like a blight to me, something is controlling the Darkspawn if they keep growing in numbers," Atreyu mused. Duncan nodded his head in agreement.

"I know there is an Archdemon behind this," He said. "But I cannot ask the king to act solely on my feeling."

"Why not?" Raziel asked. "He seems to regard the Grey Wardens highly the way he keeps going on about them."

"You as well," Atreyu said. "He was very excited when he saw you arrived."

"Yet not enough to wait for reinforcements from the Grey Wardens of Orlais," Duncan told them as they came to a stop. "He believes our legend alone makes him invulnerable. Our numbers in Ferelden are too few. We must do what we can and look to Teyrn Loghain to make up the difference. To that end, we should proceed with the Joining ritual without delay."

"This ritual is what will cure Raziel of his sickness correct?" Atreyu asked.

"Yes, this is the cure I spoke of," Duncan said. Raziel looked relieved, he wanted to be cured of this sickness he got from the Darkspawn and not have to drink anymore of that nasty tea.

"What do we need to do?" the Dalish youth asked.

"Feel free to explore the camp here as you wish, all I ask is that you do not leave for the time being," Duncan said then turned to Atreyu. "I know you are from this area and are familiar with it but for now-"

"Yeah yeah, I won't go off on my own," Atreyu assured him. Duncan nodded and gestured for the pair of Elves to start walking again.

"There is another Grey Warden in the camp by the name of Alistair," Duncan informed them. "When you are ready, seek him out and tell him to summon the other recruits. Until then, I have business I must attend to. You may find me at the Grey Warden tent on the other side of this bridge, should you need to."

"Alright, find this Alistair guy after we explore a bit," Atreyu said. Duncan nodded his head and headed across the bridge by himself. "You know… it might have been nice if he told us what this Alistair looked like."

"Maybe we can ask around," Raziel said. "This place is huge, I've never seen anything like it."

"It is," Atreyu agreed. "This is the first time I've ever been in these ruins," he said as he started over the bridge. Raziel quickly joined him, glancing over the edge of the bridge to look down at the canyon below.

"Wow," Raziel whispered. "We're really high up."

"Just be careful not to fall," Atreyu warned.

"I won't," Raziel assured his friend with a bright smile. Inside the large space of the ruins the two Elves watched as humans and Elves alike ran around tents that were erected and fires burning. As they explored, they saw a group of painted humans order an Elf around and the meek thing run off. Both Dalish and Mage Elf pitied the other Elf who seemed terrified of the humans.

"Hmmm… this isn't good," Raziel turned his head as his sharp hearing picked up someone speaking nearby. He saw a human standing next to a pen peering at something inside. "I'd hate to waste such a promising member of the breed." Raziel headed toward the man, Atreyu following once he saw the other teen leaving his side. "Are you two the new Wardens? I could use some help," the man said when he saw the pair of Elves approach.

"With what?" Atreyu asked. Raziel knelt down next to the door of the pen and gazed at the dog inside.

"What is that?" He asked, looking up at the man while pointing at the dog.

"This is a mabari," The man explained. "Smart breed, and strong. His owner died in the last battle, and the poor hound swallowed Darkspawn blood. I have medicine that might help, but I need him muzzled first."

"And where do we come in?" Atreyu asked.

"Could one of you put the muzzle on the poor fellow?" The man asked.

"I guess we could try…" Atreyu said as he leaned over and looked inside the pen. The part of his that grew up as a healer's son couldn't let the dog suffer.

"Go in the pen and let him smell you," the kennel master said as he handed the muzzle to Atreyu. "We'll know right away if he'll respond." He opened the door and let Atreyu slip inside. The Mabari looked up Atreyu with pain filled eyes as the Elf approached.

"Shhh dear one," Atreyu said soothingly, holding out one hand to the dog. The dog sniffed the hand then slowly back down from his aggressive stance, giving the Mage a look of respect. Atreyu smiled and gently petted the Mabari then slid the muzzle on. The dog let out a pained whine but didn't fight the Elf as the muzzle was put on him. "It's only for a little while dear one, the man out there will make you feel better," Atreyu said soothingly as he petted the Mabari for a moment then exited the pen.

"Well done!" The kennel master said as he closed the door. "Now I can treat the dog properly- poor fellow."

"Anything we can do?" Atreyu asked while Raziel cooed softly at the dog.

"Come to think of it, are you heading into the Wilds anytime soon?" the man asked.

"I believe so," Atreyu said.

"There's a particular herd I could use to improve the dog's chances," the kennel master said. "It's a flower that grows in the swamps here, if I remember."

"Wait…" Atreyu's eyes narrowed as he remembered his lessons with his father in his childhood. "Is it white with a blood red center?"

"Yes! That's the one," The man said with a smile.

"I know the flower, I will find one," Atreyu said. "Come on fawn, let the man help the Mabari. We can come back later."

"Alright," Raziel said as he stood. He dusted the dirt off his knees then followed Atreyu through the camp. Atreyu winced as they passed a group of humans kneeling in front of a Chantry Mother as she droned on about the Maker.

"Her voice is annoying," He told Raziel who nodded in agreement as they hurried past before the woman to drag them into her sermon.

"Are all humans that loud?" Raziel asked.

"Most Chantry mothers and sisters love preaching," Atreyu said with a roll of his eyes. "On and on about the 'chant of light', you have to learn how to tune it out after a while."

"One time Tamlen and I went with Master Varathorn to a human village to trade for items we did not have in the camp with a few weapons he made. A human woman kept going on and on about this chant thing and the human's Maker," Raziel said. "Tamlen finally told her to shut up, that we were Dalish and didn't care about the Shemlen's false god."

"I bet she was unable about that," Atreyu said with a laugh. Raziel grinned and nodded.

"Her face turned so red," He said. Atreyu grinned in return, there were plenty of times he wished he could tell off the Chantry sisters at the Tower but had to restrain himself from doing so. Looking around the camp, wondering where this Alistair person was, he spotted someone out the corner of his eyes.

"Wynne!" He called, grabbing Raziel's arm and pulling over to an older human woman wearing mage robes standing by a tree. The woman looked up at her name and gave a gentle smile.

"Maker's breath, it is good to see you child," she said. "I was so proud when Irving sent words that you passed your Harrowing."

"Yeah, fat good that's doing me now," Atreyu said.

"Yes… I heard about Jowan as well…" Wynne said with a sad look.

"I can't believe he was stupid enough too…" Atreyu shook his head, the whole situation with Jowan turned him on his head. He was hurt by what the other mage had done and so angry at the man but still couldn't bring himself to hate him.

"Are you from that tower too?" Raziel asked.

"Yes, I am one of the Senior Enchanters," Wynne said as she turned her attention to the younger Elf beside Atreyu. "My name is Wynne."

"Wynne here may be the closest thing to a mother I ever had," Atreyu said. "She took care of me when I was brought to the tower. Can't say I made it easy for her."

"No, you did not," Wynne agreed with a smile, amusement in her eyes. "I remember a wild boy who climbed the book shelves in the library to hide in the rafters and refused to come down. Of course I don't think you ever grew out of that wildness." Atreyu shrugged his shoulders and grinned slightly.

"It was the only place with windows where I could see outside," He said. "Wynne, this is my new friend Raziel, of the Dalish."

"Greetings… I'm afraid that I do not know any the proper ways to address you," Wynne said.

"No, it's ok," Raziel said.

"So you are both to become Grey Wardens then?" Wynne asked.

"Yes, at least that's the plan," Atreyu said. "It was either this or punishment by Greagoir's hand for helping Jowan. Duncan saved me from that fate."

"Yes… you really should have gone to Irving about-" Wynne started to scold softly, stopping when Atreyu held up his hand.

"Stop Wynne, I'm not sorry for what I did," He said firmly. "I'm mad at Jowan for lying to me but I also felt betrayed that my mentor signed off on making Jowan tranquil without even trying to help him."

"You two were always so close," Wynne said with a sigh. "Alright child, for now I will leave it."

"Thank you," Atreyu said softly. "I don't suppose you know who Alistair is?"

"Yes, he is one of the younger Grey Wardens," Wynne said. "I believe I saw him heading that way." She pointed to another part of the ruins just past the camp. Atreyu nodded and thanked her as he and Raziel left.

"She seemed nice, she reminds me a bit of Ashalle, she was the Dalish who raised me in the camp," Raziel said once they were out of ear shot.

"Wynne is mothering toward all of the younger apprentices," Atreyu said. "She's kind, if a little preachy about the Maker at times. She's a spirit healer and a damn good one."

"You seem to really care for her," Raziel said.

"Well she's been the only mother I can remember, mine died when I was small," Atreyu said. "She was attacked by werewolves so Ada raised me by himself. He had a little help from my aunt from time to time but it was mostly Ada."

As the pair of Elves headed toward the part of the ruins Wynne pointed out to them, a man off to the side grabbed Raziel by the arm and dragged him back.

"You there! Elf!" The balding man yelled as he pulled Raziel. "Where is my armor? And why are you dressed so preposterously?"

"Let me go!" Raziel growled as he twisted out of the hold and drew one of his daggers, pointing it at the human who stepped back with his hands held up. "How dare you grab me Shemlen!"

"N-now I don't want any trouble," the human said his eyes trained on the blade held at his throat.

"Then you shouldn't have mistaken him as a servant," Atreyu said dryly as he quickly followed, gently placing his hand on top of Raziel's and pushing the blade down. Raziel continued to glare at the man as he returned the dagger to its scabbard and crossed his arms over his chest.

"W-what?" The man blinked and looked at the two Elves in front of him. Neither of them were dressed like the servant Elves in the camp, one dressed in leather armor and the other mage robes. "O-oh, you're the ones who arrived with the Grey Warden. I… please forgive my rudeness! There are so many Elves running around, and I've been waiting for… it's simply been so hectic! I never thought…"

"You thought we were just another pair of 'Knife Ears' then?" Atreyu said with a glare. The man gulped and took a half as step back at the fierce look on both Elves' faces, crystal blue and honey toned eyes glaring at him.

"P-please pardon my terrible manners! I… I am just the quartermaster, a simple man, no one special…." The man quickly said. Raziel snorted softly, no one special was right, it was humans like this man that made him dislike the Shemlen.

"Next time don't go grabbing someone, servant or not, or I won't stop him from gutting you," Atreyu said. The man gulped again and nodded his head in agreement. "Come on fawn."

"Stupid Shemlen," Raziel growled as he followed Atreyu away.

"He is," Atreyu agreed. "Maybe now he'll think twice before grabbing an Elf, or anyone for that matter." Raziel continued to grumble softly as they entered a quieter part of the ruins, both of them hearing someone grumble up ahead.

"What is it now?" A man in mage robes asked another dressed in armor. "Haven't Grey Wardens asked more than enough of the Circle?" As the two Elves approached, Atreyu vaguely recognized the other Mage as one of the Senior Enchanters from the tower. He couldn't recall the man's name, it wasn't someone who he interacted with much but he did remember the man had an attitude and had once called Atreyu 'Knife Ear' when he was younger.

"I simply came to deliver a message from the revered Mother, ser Mage," The man in the armor said. Atreyu studied the man, not much older than himself and there was something about his face… as he had seen it before…. "She desires your presence."

"What her Reverence 'desires' is of no concern to me!" The mage snapped. "I am busy helping the Grey Wardens- by the king's orders, I might add!"

"Should I have asked her to write a note?" The other who quipped. Raziel pressed his face against Atreyu's back giggling softly while Atreyu smirked at the look on the mage's face.

"Tell her I will not be harassed in this manner!" The mage demanded.

"Yes, I was harassing _you_ by delivering a message," the younger man said dryly.

"Your glibness does you no credit," The mage insulted.

"Here I thought we were getting along so well," The man said. "I was even going to name one of my children after you… the grumpy one." Raziel giggled harder, clinging to the back of Atreyu's robes while Atreyu laughed softly. Both men turned at the sound of the laughter, the mage glaring while the younger man smiled at the amused Elves.

"Enough! I will speak to the woman if I must," the mage groused, embarrassed that he had been caught being sassed by two Elves. He turned and walked past Atreyu and Raziel, his shoulder harshly ramming into Atreyu's. "Get out of my way, Knife ear!"

Atreyu's eyes narrowed and sent a small flick of magic at the other mage that had him yelping and turning to glare at the Elf then stomped away in anger.

The younger man sighed and turned to face the duo of Elves, a lazy smile on his face.

"You know, one good thing about the blight is how it brings people together," he said.

"Oh yes, I know exactly what you mean," Atreyu said with a roll of his eyes but an easy smile on his face. "We're all just one big happy family."

"It's like a party: we could all stand in a circle and hold hand," The man agreed. "_That_ would give the Darkspawn something to think about."

"You are a very strange human," Raziel said as he stepped out from behind Atreyu now that his laughing fit was over. The human smiled at the Dalish then blinked as he looked back at Atreyu.

"Wait, we haven't met, have we?" He asked. "I don't suppose you happen to be another mage?"

"Of course I am," Atreyu said.

"Really? You don't look like a mage," The man exclaimed then quickly tried to cover his blunder. "Un… that is… I mean… how interesting."

"Un-huh," Atreyu said with a snort. "And just what do I look like?"

"Well… I thought you might be a Dalish," the man admitted rubbing the back of it his head then pointed his finger at Atreyu. "Wait, I _do_ know who you are. You're Duncan's new recruit, from the Circle of Magi. And you must be the Dalish he recruited." He said this to Raziel.

"We are," Atreyu agreed.

"I should have recognized you both right away, I apologize," the man said.

"So you're Alistair then?" Atreyu asked.

"Did Duncan mention me?" the man who turned you to be Alistair asked. "Nothing bad, I hope."

"He didn't say much of anything, only that we were to look for you," Raziel said. Alistair nodded his head.

"Right, as the junior member of the order, I'll be accompanying you when you prepare for the joining," Alistair confirmed.

"I am Atreyu, _formerly_ of the circle," Atreyu introduced himself.

"I'm Raziel," Raziel said. "Of the Saber Clan."

"Right," Alistair said. "Those were the names… So, I am curious: have you ever actually encountered Darkspawn before?"

"I've seen then when I was little, from a distance," Atreyu said.

"I've fought against them," Raziel said, his eyes dark as he thought about the cave and what happen there. Alistair could sense there was something more to Raziel's story, something sad by the look in the Dalish youth's eyes.

"When I fought my first one, I wasn't prepared for how monstrous it was," Alistair said. Raziel nodded slightly, the Darkspawn he fought against with Merrill and Fenarel by his side had been horrible. "I can't say I'm looking forward to encountering another."

"Kinda hard to avoid being a Grey Warden isn't it?" Atreyu asked.

"Yeah…" Alistair agreed as he rubbed the back of his head again. "Anyhow, whenever you're ready let's head back to Duncan. I imagine he's eager to get things started." Atreyu glanced at Raziel by his side, taking in the boy's pale face and the vines that were a little darker than normal, worry in his gut.

"Yeah, I am too," he said.

* * *

Author Note: (1) Am I the only one who thinks Cailan looks like Marvel's Thor?


	5. Chapter 5

Wilder Wardens

Author: USA Tiger

Disclaimer: The Dragon Age series is the property of BioWare.

Author Note: Thanks goes out to my beta and head minion Asilyessam who checks behind me for grammar and spelling mistakes and checks that my lore is correct.

Also since there isn't a whole bunch of known Elvish language in the game, I have borrowed a lot words and phrases from the Elvish language in the Lords of the Rings series and combined the two so for the sake of covering my butt, I also do not own Lord of the Rings or any of the Elven language created by J. R. R. Tolkien.

Chapter 5

Atreyu, Raziel and Alistair walked through the camp to where the Grey Wardens had set up some tents for their use. Duncan stood next to a large fire lost in thought, his eyes far away. Soon Alistair would return with the two recruits he had found, they along with two other recruits his brothers-in-arms had found would bring the total up to 4. Not very many but it took a special person to even be considered a Grey Warden and there wasn't any guarantee any would survive the joining. Duncan sighed softly, if only he had more time to travel around and look, he had a feeling there more out there that would have been perfect for the Wardens but with the upcoming battle he needed to return.

He saw the two Elves and Alistair approaching out of the corner of his eye and turned to face them.

"You found Alistair, did you?" Duncan asked.

"Yeah, thanks for telling us what he looked like," Atreyu quipped.

"I do apologize for that, my mind was on other things," Duncan said. "Still, I'll assume you are ready to begin preparations? Assuming, of course, that you're quite finished riling up mages, Alistair." Atreyu grinned while Raziel covered his mouth with his hands to hide his laughter while Alistair shrugged his shoulders.

"What can I say?" Alistair asked. "The Revered Mother ambushed me. The way she wields guilt they should stick her in the army."

"She forced you to sass the mage, did she?" Duncan said with a raised eyebrow. "We cannot afford to antagonize anyone, Alistair. We don't need to give anyone more ammunition against us."

"Oh he would have been all huffy no matter how polite Alistair was," Atreyu said. "I've seen him strutting around the tower plenty of times, thinking he's so much better than everyone else."

"No no, he's right," Alistair said holding up a hand as he shook his head. "I took it a little too far, I apologize Duncan." Duncan nodded and turned back to the four recruits.

"Now then, since you are all here, we can begin," he said. "You four will be heading into the Korcari Wilds to perform two tasks. The first is to obtain four vials of Darkspawn blood, one for each recruit." Raziel's face paled slightly as he realized quickly just _how_ they were going to get the blood.

"And what's the other task?" Atreyu asked.

"There was once a Grey Warden archive in the Wilds, abandoned long ago when we could no longer afford to maintain such remote outposts," Duncan explained. "You may know of it."

Atreyu narrowed his eyes as he thought back to his childhood memories of the Wilds.

"I think so; an old crumbled tower isn't it?" He asked. "I remember an old cracked emblem of a griffin above a door."

"Yes, that is the one," Duncan confirmed.

"Wait, how do you know where it is?" Alistair asked.

"I'm from the Wilds," Atreyu said. "This area is where I grew up before I was kidnapped and brought to the tower." Alistair blinked and made an 'oh' sound.

"It has recently come to our attention that some scrolls have been left behind, magically sealed to protect them," Duncan turned toward Alistair. "Alistair, I want you to retrieve these scrolls if you can."

"Of course Duncan," Alistair agreed.

"Well none of this sounds too hard," Atreyu said. "Find the old Warden archives and get some Darkspawn blood. How hard can that be?"

"What are the scrolls for?" Raziel asked.

"The scrolls contain treaties promising support. Treaties that may prove valuable in the days to come," Duncan explained to the Dalish youth.

"Oh! Like the treaty you have with the Dalish Elves?" Raziel asked, remembering what his Clan's Keeper Marethari had said when he went away with Duncan.

"The very same," Duncan agreed with a nod. "Watch over your charges, Alistair. Return quickly and safely."

"We will," Alistair promised.

"Then may the Maker, or your own Gods," He said this to the two Elves," watch over your path. I will see you when you return."

"Alright, let's go then men, before we lose sunlight," Alistair said to the four recruits gathered.

"Alright, about bloody time!" One of the other two men, who had a quiver full of arrows on his back and a bow sling over one shoulders, said in excitement as he pumped a fist.

"Wait, who are you?" Atreyu asked.

"I suppose you four hadn't been introduced yet have you," Alistair realized. "This is Daveth, a… gentleman… from Denerim."

"That's right, I'm a gentleman," Daveth agreed with a wide grin as he pointed his thumb at himself.

"More like a thief," Atreyu said very softly to Raziel so only the Elf would hear him, the man had that look to him and the way Alistair hesitated to introduce the man was telling. Raziel bit his lip to keep from laughing.

"And this is Ser Jory, from Redcliffe," Alistair introduced the other man who nodded at the two Elves.

"Greetings," he said.

"These two are Atreyu, _formerly_ of the Circle of Mages," Alistair said, making Atreyu grin as the Warden stressed the word 'formerly' like he had earlier. "And Raziel of the Dalish Elves."

"Vedui'," Raziel said. (Greetings)

"I hope you two have no problems working with a couple of Elves," Atreyu said. "Or that I'm a mage?"

"Nononono!" Daveth said with a wave of his hands. "Know plenty of Elves, alright bunch by me. Just don't turn me into a toad and we'll be alright."

"I do not have a problem with Elves," Jory said. "Nor with a mage if you are on our side."

"Great! Now that that's out of the way, shall we head out into the wilds?" Alistair asked as he led the way toward the gate. The guard standing by the gate saluted as they approached while his Mabari hound stood up sniffing at them.

"Hail. I'm told you all have business in the wilds. The gate's open for you," he said as he swung open the gate. "Just be careful out there. Even a Grey Warden wouldn't be safe in the forest tonight."

"We'll be careful and back soon," Alistair said as he waved for the others to go out the gate.

* * *

As they stepped out into the swampy area, Atreyu closed his eyes and took a deep breath, a smile crossing his lips. The air smelt like home and it brought a joy in him he hadn't felt in years.

"Dreary looking place ain't it?" Daveth said as he looked around.

"It isn't that bad," Raziel said, it wasn't anything like the forests he was use too but the place was teeming with life none the less and he was surrounded by trees.

"It's home, or as close as I've been in a while," Atreyu said softly as he looked off into the distance. He could see the forest where his clan, his tribe lived. His heart ached as he thought about his mother, killed by werewolves when he was young, and father, killed by the very Templars that captured him. He missed them both but he knew he had other family who all missed him greatly… if they even knew he was still alive. How he wanted to race into those woods and find his tribe's village, announce to the world here he was, that he still lived!

But he couldn't, not now… hopefully later it would be alright for him to pop away and visit his family.

As they took off down the hill a chorus of howls filled the air as a pack of wolves came out of hiding from behind buses and trees.

"Wolves!" Jory warned as he quickly drew his blade. Alistair was quick to draw his as well, using his shield to bash one on the head as it leapt at him. Raziel and Daveth quickly picked off many of the pack as the beast ran at them while Atreyu cast many freezing spells to slow them down. The pack fell quickly to the onslaught, their bodies lying all around them.

"Mad that was," Daveth said. "Ever seen a wolf act like that before?"

"I have," Raziel said softly as he knelt next to one of the wolves, gently petting the fur on its neck. He hated killing off the wolves like that.

"They're just wolves, they were likely hungry and thought we should make a great snack," Jory said. He had seen enough wolves killing sheep and druffalo in the fields.

"No, it's early summer," Atreyu said with a shake of his head. "There would be plenty of animals around for them to hunt. Didn't you see their eyes? These poor things were tainted, from the Darkspawn in the area. It drives them mad, if it doesn't turn them into Blight Wolves." Raziel wondered if that was what happened to the wolves that attacked him and Tamlen in the woods near their camp.

"Maker's breath," Alistair said with a sigh. "I suppose it was a good thing we put them out of their misery then."

"Yes, as sad as it is to say," Atreyu agreed softly.

"Here, what's that in the water?" Daveth asked pointing. Alistair looked to where the rouge was pointing and sighed again.

"Maker," He breathed as he jogged over, the others behind him. In the water laid a body of a man, slain by what could only have been Darkspawn. "Poor soul didn't stand a chance."

"Something is sticking out of his pocket," Raziel said as he pointed. Alistair reached over and carefully plucked the letter out of the dead man's pocket.

"Right, we'll just take this with us and give it to who it's addressed to when we return to camp," Alistair said after reading the name on the letter. Not far from the body was a destroyed camp littered with bodies.

"Creators!" Raziel exclaimed, his hand pressing against his lips as he looked around with wide eyes. "What happen here?"

"My guess? Darkspawn," Atreyu as he looked around. "They really did a number here… hey a survivor!" He pointed at a man crawling along the ground.

"Who… is that? Grey…. Wardens...?" The solider asked in pain as he stopped crawling and looked up at the group gathered around him.

"Well, he's not half as dead as he looks, is he?" Alistair quipped.

"The fact he's alive is a miracle in itself," Atreyu pointed out as he knelt next to the man. "Can you tell us what happen?"

"My scouting band was attacked by Darkspawn!" The man said, holding his hand over a wound on his side. His head bowed and breath hitched as he remembered what happened. "They came out of the ground… please, help me! I've got to… return to camp…"

"Can you heal him?" Alistair asked Atreyu.

"I can use a little healing magic but it won't completely heal him," Atreyu said with a shake of his head.

"But you're a mage!" Daveth said.

"So I am, but I've never been very good with the Creation branch of magic, the only spell I've been able to use is Heal," Atreyu explained. "The magic is too… human… for me to use."

"What does that even mean?" Daveth asked confused.

"I'm an _Elf_ what do you think it means?" Atreyu asked dryly.

"You would do better with the Ancient Elven spells," Raziel said. "Like the Keepers and their First and Seconds use."

"Yes, the spells our ancestor's created," Atreyu agreed. "I have a few poultices we can use on his wounds, it would get him back to Ostagar."

"I have bandages in my pack," Alistair said as he knelt down as well, taking the bandages out. Between the two of them, Atreyu applying the health poultice to the wounds and Alistair wrapping them tight, they had all of the worse wounds taken care of. The man sighed in relief as some of the pain started to ebb away.

"Thank you!" He said as he slowly climbed to his feet with a groan. "I… I've got to get out of here!"

"Of course, you should hurry," Atreyu agreed as he stood and brushed the dirt off his robes. "Look for the Mage Wynne at the camp, she's a Spirit Healer."

"Thank you again," The solider said then started to quickly limp off. As Atreyu and Raziel watched the solider leave, Jory turned to Alistair, just a hint of panic in his voice.

"Did you hear? An entire patrol of seasoned men killed by Darkspawn!"

"Calm down, Ser Jory," Alistair said calmly, holding his hands up in front of him. "We'll be fine if we're careful." Daveth, Atreyu and Raziel turned to watch the other two men as Jory exclaimed,

"Those soldiers were careful, and they were still overwhelmed. How many Darkspawn can the five of us slay? A dozen? A hundred? There's an entire **army** in these forests!"

"Gee Jory, for a being a knight, I didn't peg you as a coward," Atreyu taunted.

"There are Darkspawn about, but we're in no danger of walking into the bulk of the horde," Alistair assured the man.

"How do you know? I'm not a coward," Here Jory shot a glare in Atreyu's direction, "but this is foolish and reckless. We should go back."

"How just do you except to be a Grey Warden if you can't even stand the thought of killing a few?" Atreyu asked. "It's kinda what we're suppose to do ya know."

"That's… true…" Jory said.

"Know this: All Grey Wardens can sense Darkspawn," Alistair said, trying to put Jory's fears at ease. "Whatever their cunning, I guarantee they won't take us by surprise. That's why I'm here."

"You see, ser knight?" Daveth said cheerfully. "We might die, but we'll be warned about it first."

"That is… reassuring?" Jory said in a confused tone.

"That doesn't mean I'm here to make this easy, however," Alistair pointed out. "So let's get a move on."

"Lead the way then fearless leader," Atreyu said. The group headed out again, walking further into the wilds. So far they hadn't run into any Darkspawn though Alistair said he could sense some nearby. Atreyu's eyes wondered around, picking out familiar land marks he hadn't seen in years.

"You look so sad," Raziel said softly as he touched Atreyu's arm. Atreyu turned to his new friend and gave him a small smile.

"I'm just remembering the times I was here with Ada," Atreyu said softly. "I'm so close to home yet I can't go there."

"We didn't have a home but I really miss my clan," Raziel said with a sad sigh. Atreyu wrapped an arm around the younger Elf's shoulder, tucking the Dalish against his side.

"I know how you feel Fawn," he said, Raziel smiling softly at the words.

"Well I have you at least," The teen said.

"Heads up!" Alistair called. "Darkspawn ahead."

"Finally," Atreyu said as he drew his staff while Raziel readied his bow and arrow. "Ready?"

"Yes," Raziel said with a nod. Atreyu grinned and ran forward with Raziel hot on his heels. Jory and Alistair had already engaged the first few Darkspawn that had spotted them while Daveth picked them off from a distance with his bow and arrow.

While most mages were content to stay back and attack from a distance, Atreyu had always been a more up close and personal type of Elf. He rushed at a Darkspawn coming up from the side, swinging the mage staff around and smacking the creature in the head. While it was stunned, he blast it in the face with an arcane bolt followed up by a fire ball spell. Raziel covered his friend's back, shooting at the Darkspawn archers with Daveth until they all fell then switched quickly to his twin daggers when one Darkspawn tried to sneak up on them.

"Haha!" Atreyu laughed, quickly freezing the Darkspawn with a Winter's Grasp allowing Raziel to quickly cut off its head before moving on to the next Darkspawn.

"You're crazy!" Raziel said with a laugh over the sound of battle.

"Just a little," Atreyu agreed as he hit the end of his staff into the gut of a Darkspawn, making it bowl over with a gasp while Raziel kicked another one squarely in the groin, dazing the monster as it held its privates in pain. Both Elves quickly switched places, Raziel plunging his daggers into the neck of the Darkspawn Atreyu had stunned while Atreyu froze the other one then shattered it with a good whack of his staff. The two Elves stood back to back ready to take on any more Darkspawn but it appeared that was the last of them and they were now being stared at by the humans.

"Maker's breath!" Alistair said as he looked around at felled Darkspawn that surrounded the Elves. "That was…"

"That was amazing, that's what that was," Daveth said with a grin. "Good job there with the daggers mate, those Darkspawn never knew what hit them." Raziel blushed at the praise.

"That was impressive fighting for a mage," Jory said very impressed. Atreyu just looked smug as he twirled his staff and placed it into its holder on his back.

"Well, let's get to harvesting these Darkspawn," Alistair said as he handed out small vials to each of the recruits.

"Err… just how do we do that?" Daveth asked as he looked at the vial in his hand.

"I'm going to say like this," Atreyu said as he stole a knife off Daveth, who yelled "Hey!" and cut one of the dead Darkspawn. A sludge-like black blood dripped out of the cut and into the vial that Atreyu held under the wound. The mage gagged and hand his arm over his mouth and nose. "Good gods! This stinks!"

"Yeah, they can smell pretty bad," Alistair agreed as he remembered the time he had to do this. Daveth looked queasy while Jory looked plain unhappy. Raziel wasn't too happy either, his face was pale as he looked at one of the Darkspawn at his feet. The Dalish licked his lips and knelt down next to the body, taking out a knife from a scabbard on his hip and slicing the skin. He gagged a little as the Darkspawn started to bleed and the smell hit his nose. He looked away as he held the vial under the cut, letting the foul smelling blood drip in, only glancing back for a second every now and then to make sure it was full.

As soon as the vial was full, Raziel capped it then gagged as some of the blood spilled out of the vial and dropped onto his fingers. The smell hit the teen and he slapped a hand over his mouth, dropping the vial to the ground as he ran over to the pushes and started to retch. Atreyu cursed and gave his capped off vial to Alistair and ran over to Raziel, ignoring the startled looking Jory and Daveth who were still working on filling up their vials.

"Is he ok?" Alistair asked as he jogged over to where Raziel was on his hands and knees, his face pale as he breathed deeply his stomach still rolling, honey toned eyes shut tight.

"Does he look alright?" Atreyu asked from Raziel's side from where he was kneeling, digging in his bag for a bit of ginger he had stolen from the healing ward at the Tower. "Come on Fawn, chew on this it will settle your stomach." Raziel shakily took the ginger, slowly chewing on it as he leaned on Atreyu.

"He looks bad," Alistair said softly as he looked at the dark veins on Raziel's neck.

"Well I don't think being around all these Darkspawn like this is helping his sickness any is it?" Atreyu said as he held Raziel, rubbing the younger Elf's back.

"No, I guess not," Alistair agreed as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"I-I'm fine," Raziel said his voice raw. He knew of course that he wasn't at all fine, his insides had burned like fire there for a few seconds and his throat was raw from throwing up what little food that had been in his stomach. "I don't have to do that again do I?"

"No," Alistair assured him. "If your vial isn't good I'll make up the next one for you."

"Ma serannas," Raziel said as he let Atreyu help him to his feet.

"Here, use this to wash your mouth out while I check on the other two," Alistair handed Raziel a waterskin then went to check on Jory and Daveth. He stopped by the Darkspawn Raziel had been bleeding and picked up the vial he drop. It was perfectly sealed and after cleaning the blood off the outside, dropped it into a pouch with the one Atreyu had given him.

"Will you be alright Fawn?" Atreyu asked once they were alone again.

"Yeah, the smell just sort of hit me all at once," Raziel said as he took a long draw from the waterskin, letting the water rinse his mouth out then spat it on the ground. "Ugh, that was horrible."

"Eat a little bit more ginger," Atreyu said as he handed some more over. Raziel gratefully took it and slowly chewed on the piece as they rejoined the others, Atreyu handed Daveth back the knife he stole off him.

"Alright, everyone has their vial of Darkspawn blood now," Alistair announced as he dropped the last two vials into the pouch. "So now all we have to do is get the treaties. Do you remember where the archives are?" He asked Atreyu.

"Vaguely, enough to point us in the right direction," Atreyu said.

"You take point then," Alistair said. Atreyu nodded and waved for the others to follow him further into the swamp. A second pack of wolves attacked them and this time Raziel paid attention to their eyes, they were blank and almost black looking, the wolves foaming at the mouth as they snapped and growled at them. He sighed sadly and tried to take the poor creatures out as quickly and painlessly as possible. Atreyu was also quick to put down the wolves, their dying howls ripping a hole in his heart.

"I hate doing this to them but they would have never attacked us if it wasn't for the taint they carry," he said once they were all dead.

"The only good wolf is a dead wolf," Jory said with a scoff. Atreyu turned and leveled a glare at the knight, making Jory gulp and step back slightly.

"I would watch your mouth if I were you, ser knight," Atreyu said coldly. "I happen to like wolves and I know them a lot better than you do." Jory quickly nodded, anything to get that cold glare off him. Atreyu stared at him a second longer then stalked off down the path.

"That wasn't very nice to say," Raziel said to Jory before hurrying after Atreyu.

"Good job inserting your foot like that, ser knight," Daveth said with a laugh. Jory grumbled softly to himself with a bit of a blush on his face.

"Let's follow them before they get too far ahead," Alistair said.

"Are you ok Atreyu?" Raziel asked once he caught up with the older Elf. Atreyu sighed as he came to a stop, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Yes Fawn, I'm fine," he assured his younger friend. "I just dislike hearing people talk about wolves that way. I'm sure Jory had his reasons but it hit a little close to home."

"Well I don't think that way, usually the packs around our camp are pretty nice," Raziel said. This brought a smile to Atreyu's lips and he ruffled the other's hair. Raziel laughed and playfully pushed away Atreyu's hand, something catching his attention out of the corner of his eye. "Hey, isn't that the flower you were looking for?" he asked pointing. Atreyu followed to where the youth pointed and smiled.

"Good eye there Fawn," He said as he walked over and started to harvest the flower needed to help the Mabari. Alistair and the two other men joined them soon enough, watching as Atreyu harvest the flower. That was until a growling noise filled the air, right in front of Atreyu. Everyone but Atreyu stiffened, hands on their weapons as a large white wolf stood on top of the log where the flower had been resting. Atreyu slowly lifted his eyes up to the wolf, looking into clear golden toned eyes. Raziel gulped slowly as he watched the wolf step closer to Atreyu, holding his hand out to stop Daveth from raising his bow.

"Stop," he hissed softly. The wolf glanced their way then turned back to Atreyu, the beast lower his head as he sniffed at the Elven mage. Atreyu licked his lips, calmly holding his hand out to the wolf to smell. He stayed still as the wolf's cold wet nose pressed against the skin of his palm, the wolf taking a long whiff of the Elf's scent. The wolf's head jerked up and he looked into Atreyu's crystal blue eyes again as Atreyu looked back into his.

"Falkor," Atreyu said softly. The wolf yipped and tackled Atreyu, making the others start and reach for their weapons again worried the wolf was mauling Atreyu until they heard the Elf laughing as the wolf bathed him in wolfie kisses. "Hahaha! Oh Falkor, how I missed you my friend," Atreyu said as he hugged the white wolf.

"I'm sorry, I'm confused," Alistair said as he watched the large white wolf act like a giant puppy, the beast's whole hind end wiggling as he wagged his tail.

"This is my bond wolf, Falkor," Atreyu said as he sat up, rubbing his head against Falkor's. "Come here Fawn," he held out his hand to Raziel who eagerly came to sit by his friend's side. Falkor sniffed Raziel, his nose pressing against the Dalish's neck making the teen laugh as it tickled him.

"Bond wolf?" Alistair asked still confused.

"Yes, like how you Shems imprint with the Mabari," Atreyu said, watching with amusement as Falkor flopped down over his and Raziel's laps, tail thumping against the ground. "But I bonded with a wolf, when I was little."

"Kinda make sense what he defends those wolves down doesn't it, ser knight," Daveth asked Jory who just cleared his throat and looked away. The knight didn't quite trust wolves but he wasn't about to anger the mage again.

"Falkor!" A man's voice called. Atreyu's head snapped up at the sound while Falkor jumped to his feet, barking happily as he pranced around his master, alerting the person who called his name to where he was. "Where have you gotten to know you silly wolf? You better not be chasing another stink cat."

Raziel watched as Atreyu climbed to his feet, a look of pure longing in his eyes. Alistair watched as well as an older Elf rounded the bend, coming up short as he noticed the three humans and two Elves. Raziel's head tilted to the side as he quickly studied the Elf. He was older for sure but didn't look that old, his hair was long, pure snowy white and hung around him in waves, decorated with bits of beads and feathers. But his eyes, a deep amber color, had that look that said he saw and did many things. He also had a facial tattoo similar to Atreyu's, but it only covered his right eye instead of both of them.

He wore a soft leather deer skin top with long sleeves that were wide and was decorated with fringe and a pair of buckskins. In his hand was a mage's staff, the head in the shape of a wolf.

The Elven man was looking straight at Atreyu, shock and… love? Yes it looked like love in his eyes.

"Atreyu?" the man asked softly with pure hope in his voice.

"Grandfather!" Atreyu cried as he ran over to the man, who wrapped both of his arms tightly around the younger Elf.

"Grandfather?" Raziel heard Alistair ask in surprise, he didn't blame the human. The man didn't look old enough to be anyone's grandfather, heck he barely looked old enough to be a father to a teenage Elf. But those eyes… somehow Raziel knew the Elf was much older than he looked.

"Cormamin lindua ele lle," The man said softly as he held Atreyu. (My heart sings to see thee)

"My heart sings with joy," Atreyu responded in common tongue, hugging his Grandfather back. "I have missed you Grandfather."

"I have missed you as well my cub," Atreyu's grandfather said. "We were all so worried that you died when we could not find your body with your father. I am overjoyed to see you here alive before me."

"I'm sorry, hate to break this up, but who are you?" Alistair asked. The Elven man chuckled softly, keeping on arm around Atreyu as he turned to face anyone else.

"Please forgive me, I was so overjoyed to see my grandson that I failed to really notice anything else," The man said. "I am Fen'ithil, shaman of the Wilder Elves."

"Wilder Elves?" Alistair asked. "Never heard of them."

"I am not surprised we have kept ourselves well hidden," Fen'ithil said dryly. "We felt we must after what you Shemlens did to our Dalish cousins." Alistair blushed and rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment.

"Right…" he said slowly. "That."

"Tell me my cub, where have you been all these years?" Fen'ithil asked Atreyu.

"Let me tell you over here," Atreyu said, starting to lead his Grandfather away.

"Hey!" Alistair said. "The other task!"

"You can give me 10 minutes to speak to my grandfather, who believed I was _dead_ for 10 years," Atreyu said icily.

"Alright alright, 10 minutes then," Alistair quickly agreed. Atreyu nodded and continued off to a quiet area to speak, Falkor sticking close to his side.

* * *

Atreyu told his grandfather all of what happen 10 years before hand. How Templars ambushed them while he and his father Raistlin had been returning to the tribe from Lothering, the Templars making it so his father could not use magic and had been killed while Atreyu hid.

"I was so stupid Grandfather, I rushed out to Ada's body and tried to heal him, the first time I ever shown magic," Atreyu said softly, hanging his head in shame. "The Templars saw it and dragged me away, placing me in one of those Circle of Magi with other mages."

"It was not your fault cub," Fen'ithil said firmly as he lifted Atreyu's head for the teen to look at him. "You were a child, one who just saw their father murdered in front of them. I cannot express now much my heart aches to know what you have gone through but at the same time I am happy that you were alive this whole time. Tell me, will you return to the tribe with me?"

"I… I wish I could Grandfather," Atreyu said then shook his head. "But I can't, not right now. I gave my word to Duncan, the Grey Warden who took me from the Tower of Magi, that I would join his order."

"I see," Fen'ithil said then sighed. "I do wish you would return with me cub but I understand how important this is as well. So I will trust you on this and pray to the gods that you are kept safe."

"I… could you pray for my friend as well, the other Elf that is with me?" Atreyu asked. "His name is Raziel and he is very sick with Darkspawn taint, Duncan says he knows of a cure but…" Fen'ithil smiled and grasped Atreyu's shoulder.

"Yes my cub, I will say a pray to the gods for him as well," he promised. Fen'ithil cupped his grandson's cheek and peered into crystal blues eyes. "Please be safe my cub, I could not bear it if I were to lose you after finding you again."

"I'll try Grandfather, but this is a Blight, I don't know how safe I will be," Atreyu said.

"Words like that make me want to take you back to the safety of the village," Fen'ithil muttered softly. "Come, let us return to your companions before the large blond Shemlen has a fit." Atreyu laughed and walked with the elder Elf back to the group. Raziel looked up when they returned and quickly came over when Atreyu motioned to him.

"Grandfather, this is my friend Raziel," Atreyu said.

"Mae govannen, selen," Fen'ithil said with a smile. (Well met, cousin)

Raziel blinked them smiled brightly at the older Elf. "Saesa omentien lle, hahren" (Pleasure meeting you, elder)

Fen'ithil chuckled softly, the youth was too cute for words. He turned to Alistair who squirmed slightly under his look.

"I would rather not leave my grandson or young cousin here knowing the dangers they will be in but I know this is impossible," he said. "So promise me you will keep them as safe as you can Shemlen."

"I give my word," Alistair said. Fen'ithil looked Alistair in the eye for a moment longer then nodded and turned back to the two younger Elves. Alistair gave a small sigh of relief, he swore those amber toned eyes were looking straight into his soul.

"I will take my leave now cub, I have to inform the village of your return to us," Fen'ithil said then looked at Raziel with a smile. "You are welcome any time in our village cousin."

"Thank you, hahren," Raziel said.

"And I suppose you are staying here," Fen'ithil said to Falkor. The wolf barked and pressed a paw on top of his master's foot. He wasn't going anywhere now that he found his master again. Fen'ithil chuckled softly while Atreyu ruffled his wolf's fur. "Aa' lasser en lle coia orn n' omenta gurtha," Fen'ithil said to both of them. (May the leaves of your life tree never turn brown)

"Lissenen ar' maska'lalaith tenna' lye omentuva," Atreyu responded. (Sweet water and light laughter till next we meet)

Fen'ithil smiled at Atreyu and Raziel, he did not wish to leave his newly found grandson behind or his new young friend. Just knowing that a blight was upon them once again made him want to squirrel away the two younger Elves to the safety of the village. But he couldn't, he knew that, so he had to trust the pair would watch after each other and Falkor would protect his young master. He bowed slightly to the rest of the group and headed back toward the forest in the distance. He needed to inform the Chief of the new development and ensure his grandchild had all the tools he needed to get through this blight.

"So… that was your grandfather?" Alistair asked once the Elf was gone.

"Yes Alistair it was," Atreyu said with a sigh. "Look, can we not talk about it? I have to leave my Grandfather right after finding him again, don't you think that's a bit hard on me?" Raziel touched Atreyu's arm who gave his younger friend a smile and laid his hand on top of the other.

"Ermm right, sorry," Alistair said. "How about we just go after those treaties then?"

"Alright, I think the tower is this way," Atreyu said as he lead the way, Raziel by his side and Falkor following along eagerly at his heels.

* * *

"There it is!" Atreyu called as he crested one of the many hills within the Wilds. They had been searching for a while for the old Warden's archives, Atreyu had only vaguely remembered where the ruins had been, and it was starting to get late in the afternoon.

"About bloody time," Jory said as the others joined the mage.

"Hey, I said before it's been a long time since I've last been here," Atreyu said. "Be thankful I even remembered it, we could have been out here for hours looking for it."

"As long as we find the whatever and we can go back to camp, I'll be happy," Daveth said as he leaned forward, his hands resting on his knees. He was tried and really wanted a good hot meal, and wanted out of this creepy swamp. The bodies hanging from the tree had really rattled Daveth and Jory while Raziel looked a bit sick looking at them and Alistair looked sad. Atreyu had just taken a look at them and shook his head, moving past as if it was nothing.

"Come on," Alistair said waving for the men to follow. As they neared the large stone gate in front of the tower a small group of Darkspawn attacked, one of many attacks they had to put up with today. Atreyu groaned softly and quickly cast a freezing spell, working side by side with Raziel to take the creatures down. Falkor had been a surprisingly good addition to the group, Alistair remarking that it was much like fighting with a Mabari hound. Atreyu hadn't been amused to have his wolf compared to a dog bred to be what the wolf already was.

Atreyu cursed as Raziel stumbled, nearly getting himself cut by the blade of the Darkspawn fighting the youth. Atreyu cast a fireball spell in the face of the Darkspawn, making it stumble back with a surprised pained roar and leaving it to Alistair while he grabbed Raziel by the waist the pulled the other Elf close.

"Are you ok?" Atreyu asked, letting Raziel lean against him. Raziel's face was really pale and the boy's breath a little labored.

"I'm sorry, I just felt weak for a moment," Raziel said as he tried to regain his breath. Atreyu's free hand pressed against his forehead, it was a little warm.

"You need some of that tea," Atreyu said softly. Raziel's nose wrinkled at the thought of drinking more of that nasty tea but it really did make him feel better.

"I can't wait until I get that cure Duncan said would help me," He said.

"Is he alright?" Alistair asked once the last Darkspawn was down.

"Tired and sick mostly," Atreyu said. "I have a tea I can make for him to help keep the taint at bay for a little bit but he really needs that cure Alistair."

"I know, he'll get it tonight," Alistair assured him. He grasped Raziel's arm gently. "Just hang in there a little longer ok?"

"Yeah, I can do that," Raziel agreed.

"Come on then, let's get the treaties and get out of here," Alistair said. Raziel's moment of weakness had passed allowing him to stand on his own two feet again, the two Elves following the junior Warden into the ruins.

Time had not been kind to the tower, most of it had been destroyed over the years from the weather and nature taking it back. All that was left were the outer walls of the tower and piles of rubble that everyone but Raziel searched as the youngest recruit was told by everyone to sit down and rest. Falkor laid down next Raziel, placing his head in the Elf's lap and letting the youth pet him.

"Uh guys? We have a problem," Atreyu's voice called out from the rubble. "I found the chest where the documents were kept but…"

"But what?" Alistair asked as he jogged over to look. "Where are they?" He asked, there was a decorated chest among the rubble but it was smash in half and no papers inside.

"Well, well, what have we here?" A woman's voice said from behind the group. Raziel quickly jumped up, a dagger in one hand as he turned around. It was a human woman with black hair twisted up into a messy bun on top of her head and wearing breast band that only just covered her breasts and a purple cloth hanging from around her neck that wrapped around her torso. There were necklaces around her neck as well and bracelets decorating her arms. Falkor panted happily, planting his rump on the ground and wagged his tail, his large triangular ears twirking forward. She started walking down a ramp that lead from the upper levels of the tower, looking over the group of men as the others gathered behind Raziel. "Are you a vulture, I wonder? A scavenger poking amidst a corpse whose bones were long since cleaned?"

"Mori…" Atreyu said very softly, so softly that only Raziel's sharp Elven hearing even picked up on it. He glanced over his shoulder at his friend, Atreyu was looking at the woman, this 'Mori' with surprise, yet with a great fondness in his blue eyes.

"Or merely an intruder, come into these Darkspawn-filled Wilds of mine in search for easy prey?" The woman continued as she came to a stop in front of the group. She looked them over, three human and two Elves, one of which was a Dalish but could not get a good look at the second Elf. "What say you? Scavenger or intruder?"

"Your Wilds?" Atreyu asked from the back of the group. "Isn't that a little high and mighty of you daughter of Flemeth? Or did all the Wilder Folk and Wilder Elves leave since the last time I was here?" The woman blinked then suddenly darted forward, pushing Raziel and Alistair out of the way then stopped, surprise on her face as she looked at Atreyu.

"Hey!" Alistair protested when he was pushed.

"Atreyu…" she said softly as if she couldn't believe it.

"Hello Mori," Atreyu said with a smile.

"I believed you to be dead," The woman Mori said softly.

"Yeah well, the reports of my death were a little pre-mature," Atreyu said with a shrug of his shoulders. The woman cracked a small smile at his words, looking like she very much wanted to hug him but was refraining from doing so. "Aww, no hello kiss for me Morrigan?"

"Wait, you know her?" Alistair asked pointing at finger at Morrigan.

"She's a childhood friend of mine," Atreyu said. "She knows the Wilds better than I do, of course that can't be helped after being away so long."

"Then she should know this tower belongs to the Grey Wardens," Alistair said crossing his arms over his chest. Morrigan laughed, her hand over her mouth.

"Tis a tower no longer," she pointed out in amusement. "The Wilds have obviously claimed this desiccated corpse. You know, I watched your progress for some time. 'Where do they go,' I wondered, 'why are they here?' You say this tower belongs to the Grey Wardens yet it has been undisturbed for many a year, allowed to rot and become one with the Wilds again. Why now do you disturb its ashes now?" Raziel opened his mouth to tell her.

"Don't tell her," Alistair said with a shake of his head while holding his hand out in front of Raziel. "She looks Chasind, and that means others may be nearby." Atreyu rolled his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest.

"You fear barbarians will swoop down upon you?" Morrigan asked in amusement, her arms raising up in the air when she said 'swoop'.

"Yes, swooping is bad," Alistair said dryly.

"She's a Witch of the Wilds, she is!" Daveth said pointing. "She'll turn us into toads!"

"Witch of the Wilds? Such idle fancies, those legends," Morrigan said in a bored tone. "Have you no minds of your own? These two are Elves, they do not frighten easily like little boys. Tell me little one, what is your name?" She asked Raziel.

"My name is Raziel," Raziel said. Atreyu knew her and seem to trust her so he would too.

"Such manners," Morrigan said with a small smile. "And you are a friend of Atreyu's?"

"Yes," Raziel said with a nod of his head.

"They you are welcome here within the Wilds little one," Morrigan said then turned back to Alistair. "Shall I guess you purpose? You sought something in that chest, something that is here no longer?"

"'Here no longer?' You stole them, didn't you?" Alistair said quick to accuse Morrigan. "You're… some kind of… sneaky… witch-thief!" Atreyu groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Alistair, did you completely ignore the part where I said I already knew Morrigan?" He asked. "She's no witch-thief or something as ridiculous as that."

"Yes but you also said it's been years since you seen her," Alistair was quick to point out. "She might have changed since then, might not be the same person you once knew."

"How very eloquent," Morrigan said. "How does one steal from dead men?"

"Quite easily, it seems," Alistair said. "Those documents are Grey Warden property, and I suggest you return them."

"I will not, for 'twas not I who removed them," Morrigan said firmly. "Invoke a name that means nothing here any longer if you wish; I am not threatened."

"Alistair, for the love of the Gods would you shut up already?" Atreyu hissed to the Warden. The man pouted just a bit which was ignored by Atreyu as he turned to Morrigan. "Mori? Please? We really need those documents. Do you know who has them?"

"'Twas my mother who took them, in fact," Morrigan said.

"Oh great, so the old bat is involved," Atreyu said with a sigh. Morrigan laughed softly at the nickname for her mother.

"Yes my dear friend," she said. "I do like that name, 'old bat', I should call her that to her face sometime."

"Well, I guess a visit with your mother is in order then," Atreyu said with a sigh. "I guess it's a good thing anyway, I will need to use your cooking fire to make a healing tea for the Fawn."

"Of course," Morrigan agreed. "Follow me then." She turned and started walking away.

"She'll put is all in the pot, she will," Daveth said, still superstitious of Morrigan and her being a 'witch of the wilds'.

"If the pot's warmer than this forest, it'd be a nice change," Jory pointed out. He was cold and wanted to stand next to a warm fire for a while. He was starting to regret agreeing to join the Grey Wardens. All he wanted to do right now was be by his wife's side and stroke her belly where their soon-to-be born child was. He sighed softly; he missed his wife and wished he could be there with her as the child's name day approached.

"She's not going to put us in any pot," Raziel said as he, Daveth and Jory following Morrigan who was just amused by the whole exchange. Before Atreyu could follow them, Alistair grabbed the Elf by the upper arm to stop him, ignoring the warning growl Falkor gave when his master was grabbed.

"I don't like this Atreyu," Alistair said softly. "Morrigan's sudden appearance, it's too convenient. Are you sure we can trust her?"

"Yes Alistair, we can trust her," Atreyu said as he pulled his arm out of the other's grip. "Mori was one of my best friends growing up, she may be Chasind, and yes you were right about that, but that does not make her evil or some other nonsense, not all in the Wilds are evil Alistair. Look, we need those treaties yes? So you will have to trust her and the old bat." Alistair sighed softly; he didn't like any of this.

"Fine, but I'm only going along with this because we need those treaties," he said as last.

"Of course. Now come on before they get too far ahead of us," Atreyu said then walked off to follow, Falkor close to his side. Alistair sighed again and ran a hand through his hair, what had he gotten himself into, then quickly followed after the rest.

* * *

As the group walked through the Wilds, Atreyu moved to the front of the group and was speaking softly with Morrigan with Raziel on his other side. Daveth was trying to keep as must distance as possible between him and Morrigan, scared of the mage while Alistair kept shooting her suspicious looks at her back.

"So where have you been all this years, my dear friend?" Morrigan asked softly, looking at the robes that the Elf wore. "It appears you have been a guest of one of the fabled Circle of Magi. Curious as you did not have magic the last I saw you."

"Guest isn't the word I would use Mori," Atreyu said dryly. "Templars attacked us and killed Ada as you can guess. I, in a moment of stupidity, rushed out of my hiding place and well…" he held up his hands, magic swirling around them. "You know sometimes it takes a tragic event to bring a mage's magic forward." A sorrowful look crossed Morrigan's face and she placed her hand on top of his, the magic dissipating under her touch.

"I apologize Atreyu," She said softly. "I did not mean to bring up such horrible memories."

"There isn't a day that I don't think about it Morrigan, I was surrounded by my father's killers and my kidnappers," Atreyu said with a sigh.

"Then why not just escape the tower?" Morrigan said. "If I did not wish to stay, I would simply leave."

"It's not as easy as that and believed me I tried," Atreyu said with a shake of his head. "Those Templars keep a very tight leash on all the mages in the tower, it took joining the Grey Wardens to get out from under their thumbs." Morrigan scoffed very softly, she did not think it would have been all that hard to escape the tower or the bumbling fools that were called Templars, she had seen her mother kill many of them over the years and even killed a few herself. Still, she dropped the subject for now as she was could how much speaking about it was hurting Atreyu, she could see it in his eyes.

They rounded a bend in the path and ahead the whole group could see a shack of a house standing out like a sore thumb within the swamp. A fire was roaring in front of the house and an old woman stood close to it, her arms crossed as she watched them approach.

"Greetings, Mother," Morrigan called as they walked up. "I bring before you five Grey Wardens who-"

"I see them, girl," Morrigan's mother Flemeth interrupted her daughter having no time for the girl's theatrics. Morrigan, use to her mother's attitude, ignored her biting words and moved to stand behind her. "Mmm… much as I expected."

"Are we supposed to believe you were expecting us?" Alistair asked in disbelief, laughter in his voice.

"You are required to do nothing, least of all believe," Flemeth said. "Shut one's eyes tight or open one's arms wide… either way, one is a fool! And you, I see you are as hard to kill as your father once was." She said to Atreyu when she noticed the silver hair Elf.

"Hello to you too Flemeth," Atreyu said in a dry voice. "I see you're still an ornery old bat."


	6. Chapter 6

Wilder Wardens

Author: USA Tiger

Disclaimer: The Dragon Age series is the property of BioWare. The LOtR Elven language belongs to J. R. R. Tolkien. The song used in this chapter 'The Voice' belongs to the Celtic Women.

Author Note: Thanks goes out to my beta and head minion Asilyessam who checks behind me for grammar and spelling mistakes and checks that my lore is correct.

Chapter 6

"Hello to you too Flemeth," Atreyu said in a dry voice. "I see you're still an ornery old bat."

"Ah, you have your father's mouth as well," Flemeth said, laughing in amusement. In the back of the group Daveth shifted side to side restlessly, while most mages didn't scare him, mostly because they were under the control of Templars so they couldn't do any real damage, wild mages like this did.

"She's a witch, I tell you!" Daveth said, unable to keep his mouth shut. "We shouldn't be talking to her!"

"Quiet Daveth," Jory hissed under his breath. "If she's really a witch, do you want to make her mad?" Flemeth smirked amused by the two men while Atreyu rolled his eyes.

"There is a smart lad," Flemeth said dryly. "Sadly irrelevant to the larger scheme of things, but it is not I who decides. Believe what you will." She dismissed the two men as unimportant, forcing all her attention on Atreyu, Raziel and even Alistair. Now these three on the other hand, they each played an important role in the future. A small smile crossed her lips as she looked at Raziel who was standing just behind Atreyu. "And what of you?"

"Me?" Raziel asked pointing to himself as Flemeth walked up, Atreyu stepping slightly in front of his younger friend.

"Does your Elven mind give you a different view point? Or do you believe as these boys do?" Flemeth asked. Raziel blinked at the question.

"Well… I'm not sure what to believe," he admitted. He didn't know what to make of the Shem woman, he felt there was something… more… about her and wondered what Atreyu knew since he already knew her.

"A statement that processes more wisdom than it implies," Flemeth said approvingly. "Be always aware… or is it oblivious? I can never remember. So much about you both is uncertain… and yet I believe." She looked at both Atreyu and Raziel now, peering deeply into crystal blue and honey toned eyes.

"You believe? What in us?" Atreyu asked in amusement. He never did understand Flemeth, both his father and grandfather always warned him to be wary around her when he went off to play with Morrigan when they were children.

"Do I?" Flemeth asked, tapping her chin as if deep in through then nodding. "Why, it seems I do!"

"You really need to lay off the mystic routine you old bat," Atreyu said with a shake of his head.

"So… this is a dreaded Witch of the Wilds?" Alistair asked looking at Atreyu. This woman seemed to be a few swords short of an armory, nothing at all like all the stories of the fabled Flemeth of the Wilds.

"Witch of the Wilds, eh?" Flemeth said with great amusement. "Morrigan must have told you that. She fancies such tales, though she would never admit it! Oh, how she dances under the moon!" She laughed to herself in amusement, feeling the heated glares Morrigan was throwing at her back. As if she would ever!... ok so there was that one time she got really drunk off the Chasind mead but still!

"They did not come to listen to your wild tales, Mother," Morrigan said in a tone that said she had to put up with this type of thing daily.

"True, they came for their treaties, yes?" Flemeth said, suddenly all serious and business like. She looked Alistair in the eye as she added, "and before you begin barking, your precious seal wore off long again. I have protected the paperwork inside since then."

"You…" Alistair opened his mouth to angrily yell at Flemeth then faltered as her words caught up with his brain. "Oh… you protected them?"

"And why not?" Flemeth said. "Come boy, I will give you the treaties." The old woman waved for Atreyu to follow her. He sighed and shook his head; Flemeth was just like he remembered her.

"Alright but I get to use your fire first," He said. Flemeth waved in an unconcerned manner. Shaking his head again he gave Raziel a little smile. "Just wait here Fawn, I'll have that tea out to you soon. Don't let these idiot shems wander off." Raziel laughed softly and nodded his head.

Inside the hut Flemeth opened a chest in the corner with a key and waved a hand toward the cooking pit.

"There, make your young friend his healing tea. But I do hope you realize it the more you use it the more it effects lessen," she said.

"Of course I do, I do remember some of the things you taught me Flemeth," Atreyu said as he walked over to the fire and went through the motions of making the bitter tea. Spending so much time with Morrigan as children, Flemeth had gone out of her way to teach both of them many potions that could be made with the herbs around the area. Atreyu's father or grandfather could have easily taught Atreyu of course, Atreyu's father Raistlin Surana had made sure his only child's knowledge of herbals was quite complete, but they seemed fine with Flemeth teaching him as well.

Flemeth fished out the treaties from the chest and closed it, locking it back up tight.

"Here, take them to your Grey Wardens," Flemeth said, giving the scrolls to Atreyu. He nodded and placed them under one arm and picked up the cup full of tea with his free hand. Flemeth grabbed Atreyu's arm before he could move away, making the Elven youth look at her in surprise. "Tell them this Blight's threat is greater than they realize!"

"Is there something you know Flemeth?" Atreyu asked with a frown. "I know that there is more to you than you let on, no matter the crazy old woman act." Flemeth smirked just slightly.

"I never could fool your father, or grandfather for that matter," She said. "It's good to see their instincts passed on down to you. Just remember what I said." Atreyu hummed softly then nodded his head. Flemeth let him go, satisfied with his silent promise and let him leave the hut, following after him.

"Here," Atreyu said as he handed the treaties to Alistair who quickly took them, looking them over to just make sure they really were the real treaties while Atreyu turned to Raziel. The younger Elf's nose wrinkled in distaste, he really hated this tea, but took it anyway. He quickly drank down the bitter tea, the effects making him feel a little better… but still the burning was right there under his skin… and he swore he could just faintly hear a song just on the edge of his senses. Atreyu gave him a worried look to which Raziel gave him a small smile trying to relieve his older friend.

"These look in order," Alistair said as he closed the scrolls back up.

"Time for you to go, then," Morrigan said gleefully, she didn't mind the company of Atreyu or even Raziel they could have stayed for all she cared but she was ready to get rid of the foolish human men with them.

"Do not be ridiculous girl," Flemeth scolded looking at Morrigan over her shoulder. "These are your guests. Surely you would like to walk your old childhood friend back to his camp." Morrigan sighed and turned to face the others.

"Oh… very well," she said. "I will show you out of the woods. Follow me." Atreyu and Raziel followed right behind her while Alistair sighed and tucked away the scrolls into a protective pouch. He nodded to Flemeth, she did protect the treaties after all and returned them without a fuss, then followed after, Jory and Daveth right on his heels.

Flemeth watched them go with a satisfied glint in her eyes, things were shaping up nicely… maybe this foolish land will survive this blight after all.

* * *

By the time they returned to Ostagar the sun was starting to set. Morrigan had done as she said she would and walked the group to the edge of the woods, saying her good-byes to Atreyu with promises to speak again later before disappearing back into the trees. Daveth nearly cried in relief when the 'scary witch' was gone, having no idea that Morrigan had shape shifted into her crow form and was following the group from above.

Atreyu was just happy to be back at the camp, Raziel looked sicker and sicker as the hours wore on. The tea he had made for his friend had only helped a little, it was like the more time the Dalish youth was around the Darkspawn the more the taint seemed to speed up. It was to the point that Raziel couldn't even fight properly with his daggers, having to stand back with Daveth and pick off the Darkspawn with his arrows instead at a distance.

As soon as they passed the gate, Alistair lead the four recruits over to Duncan at the Warden camp, many people stopping to stare at the large white wolf with them. As he heard their footsteps Duncan turned to face them.

"So you returned from the Wilds," He said he looked them over, lingering on Raziel's pale face for a second then turned to Alistair. "Have you been successful?"

"We have," Alistair said as he handed the bag with the vials and treaties to Duncan.

"Good. I've had the Circle mages preparing," Duncan informed them as he took the bag. "With the blood you've retrieved, we can begin the Joining immediately."

"We're ready," Atreyu said as Raziel nodded his head. Daveth looked eager as well but Jory didn't look that sure.

"Excellent," Duncan said. "You will need that courage to face what comes next."

"Courage?" Daveth asked. "How much danger are we in?" Duncan sighed and looked at each recruit.

"I will not lie; we Grey Wardens pay a heavy price to become what we are," he said in a very serious tone. "Fate may decree that you pay your price now rather than later." Raziel gulped softly wondering what that meant and what the price was. Atreyu touched Raziel's back in comfort.

"I'll face whatever the price is," Atreyu said. He had no idea what was to come but he wasn't about to run away with his tail tucked between his legs. Raziel just wanted to get well, he was going to die either way if he didn't go through the Joining, at least this way he had a chance.

"Wait… are you saying this could kill us?" Jory asked.

"As could any Darkspawn you might face in battle," Duncan said as he turned to face the knight. "You would not have been chosen, however, if I did not think you had a chance to survive." Jory grumbled softly, he was really starting to wish he never agreed to this. Falkor huffed at Jory, he could smell the fear on the human from here. "Ah yes… the wolf?"

"He's mine," Atreyu said as he laid a calming hand on Falkor's head. "He's my bond wolf, not unlike your Mabaris, from before the tower. He found us while we were in the wilds, he's safe."

"Impressive," Duncan said, the wolf was quite large and wild looking but it stood by Atreyu's side faithfully. "He is a welcome addition then."

"Well let's go then," Daveth said rocking on his feels. "I'm anxious to see this Joining now."

"I agree," Jory said putting on a brave face. "Let's have it done."

"Then let us begin," Duncan said in a soft tone, turning to face the other Warden. "Alistair, take them to the old temple."

"Of course Duncan," Alistair agreed then motioned for the two humans, two Elves and wolf to follow.

"Are you ok?" Atreyu asked Raziel softly as they walked through the ruins toward a temple in the back, away from everyone else, slowing down a little and letting the other three walk ahead of them. Raziel's skin was clammy looking and pale, a sheen of sweat on his skin and honey eyes a bit glazed.

"I really don't feel good Atreyu," He said softly.

"We're almost there Fawn, just hold on a little longer," Atreyu said squeezing the other's arm. Raziel nodded slightly, his whole body felt like it was on fire and his hands were shaking so badly. Falkor whined and licked Raziel's hand making the Dalish youth smile slightly. In the back of the ruins where an old temple once stood and where the Elves had found Alistair sassing the Circle Mage earlier that day was where Atreyu and Raziel found the others. Alistair was calmly standing next to the wall, his arms crossed over his chest. Jory was pacing back and forth with Daveth watching him.

"The more I hear about this Joining, the less I like it," Jory said as he stopped and turned to look at the others.

"Are you blubbering again?" Daveth asked annoyed.

"Why all these damned tests?" Jory asked with a wave of his hand. "Have I not earned my place?"

"Maybe it's tradition," Daveth suggested.

"Or maybe they're just trying to annoy you," Atreyu said as he and Raziel passed them to stand next to Alistair. "Just calm down Shem, there's nothing to do about it now but wait until Duncan gets here."

"I only know that my wife is in Highever with a child on the way," Jory groused. "If they had warned me… it just doesn't seem fair."

"Yeah well, life isn't fair," Atreyu said.

"Would you have come if they'd warned you?" Daveth asked with a shake of his head and his arms spread out slightly. "Maybe that's why they don't. The Wardens do what they must, right?"

"Including sacrificing us?" Jory couldn't believe what he was hearing, did none of the others care that they might die from this?

"I'd sacrifice a lot more if I knew it would end the blight," Daveth said.

"So would I," Atreyu said firmly. Raziel nodded his head slowly in agreement.

"You don't have families that you may never see again," Jory said. Atreyu saw red at the words and stepped up close to the taller man, his crystal blue eyes hard as he glared.

"How dare you!" Atreyu hissed, Falkor by his side growling in anger. "You don't think I have a family. You saw my grandfather while we were in the Wilds. Don't you think it hurt me to leave him after being separated from my family for 10 long fucking years! To know I can't go home and see the rest of my family! Yet here I am, ready to give my life to the Wardens, to fight the Darkspawn and the Archdemon if need be so the ones I care about can be safe!"

"Whoa, calm down there," Alistair said as he laid his hands on Atreyu's shoulders. Atreyu shrugged the human's hands off his shoulders and stomped back over to the wall by Raziel, Falkor flopping on the ground by his feet and glaring in Jory's direction.

"I would die for my clan, they are my family," Raziel said softly. Jory flushed slightly, Atreyu had scared him a bit when the feisty Elven Mage had turned his glare on him, reminding him of a wolf about to attack. The large white wolf snarling by the Elf's side didn't help either.

"You saw those Darkspawn, ser knight," Daveth said. He didn't have any blood family, at least any that he could remember. He was, like Atreyu guessed, a thief but he had only robed the snooty rich and tried to help the common man. Daveth had always been a part of the Friends of Red Jenny, they were each other's family a close knit group of strangers. He thought of little Sera, a little Elf girl that thought herself human, and it made him sick to his stomach that a Darkspawn could get their hands on that sweet if very odd child. "Wouldn't you die to protect your pretty wife from them?"

"I…" Jory hesitated in answering.

"Maybe you'll die," Daveth continued. "Maybe we'll all die. If nobody stops the Darkspawn, we'll die for sure." Alistair was impressed by Daveth speech, he didn't think much of the thief but he would admit the man was passionate about being a possible Grey Warden even if the Joining did kill him.

"I've just never faced a foe I could not engage with my blade," Jory said with a small sigh.

"At last we come to the joining," Duncan said as he joined the group, cutting off anything else Daveth would have said. In the elder Warden's hand was a large silver goblet that he sat on a table that had been placed in the area then turned to fact the four recruits and Alistair. "The Grey Wardens were founded during the first blight, when humanity stood on the verge of annihilation. So it was that the first Grey Wardens drank of Darkspawn blood and mastered their taint."

"W-we're… going to drink the blood of those… those creatures?" Jory asked in shock. Daveth looked very alarmed but still determine, Atreyu wrinkled his nose slightly at the thought of drinking Darkspawn blood, and Raziel's face became deathly pale.

"As the first Grey Wardens did before us, as we did before you," Duncan said as he slowly walked in front of the recruits. "_This_ is the source of our power and our victory."

"Those who survive the Joining become immune to the taint," Alistair explained. "We can sense it in the Darkspawn and use it to slay the archdemon." Raziel understood now how this was suppose to save his life, if the Joining didn't kill him, his body would become immune to the taint already in him. The idea of drinking that blood was sickening, making the Dalish's stomach roll at the very idea, but if he didn't he was going to die soon, if not tonight then in the next day or so. This was his only chance.

"You said those who survive," Atreyu said. "And Duncan said that this may kill us, so I'm guessing this is a pretty big chance we're taking."

"Not all who drink the blood will survive and those who do are forever changed," Duncan agreed. "This is why the Joining is a secret, it is the price we pay." Atreyu gulped slightly but nodded, if Duncan hadn't taken him from the tower he would either be dead right now, made Tranquil or shipped off to Aeonar… or some combination of the three… because he had helped a Blood Mage escape the tower. At least this way he had a chance to surviving as well as helping keep his tribe and family safe. "We speak only a few words prior to the Joining, but these worlds have been said since the first. Alistair, if you would?"

Alistair bowed his head and closed hazel toned eyes, reciting the words that burned into his heart and soul the night they were uttered on his joining.

"Join us, brothers and sisters. Join us in the shadows where we stand, vigilant," He said softly and clearly, his voice carrying across the quiet ruins. As he spoke Jory fidgeted slightly and glanced at the table where the goblet containing the Darkspawn blood sat. "Join us as we carry the duty that cannot be forsworn. And should you perish, know that your sacrifice will not be forgotten and that one day we shall join you." Above them a crow cawed into the night.

Duncan walked over to the table and picked up the goblet, turning to face the others.

"Daveth, step forward," Duncan said. Daveth took a deep breath, remembering why he was doing this, and stepped toward Duncan. The older man handed the thief the goblet who took a large drink from it before handing it back.

Daveth's heart started to race wildly and he stumbled backwards as his insides burned. He pressed a hand to his forehead then screamed loudly his eyes solid white.

"Ahh!" Raziel's tainted blood reacted at the same time, the Dalish collapsing against Atreyu.

"Raziel!" Atreyu yelled as he grabbed his friend.

"Creators!" Raziel cried as he clung to Atreyu. "Atreyu, it burns!"

"Hold on Fawn," Atreyu said as he lowered them both to the ground. Raziel cried and curled in on himself, he was hurting all over, his blood felt like it was burning within him and there was a darkly beautiful song that seemed to ring in his ears.

"Marker's breath," Jory exclaimed at the same time as he watched Daveth clutch his throat and collapse to his hands and knees. Daveth tried to breath but his throat felt closed off and his limbs felt weaker and weaker until he collapsed fully onto the ground.

"I am sorry Daveth," Duncan said in sorrow.

"Duncan!" Atreyu yelled as he held Raziel close. Duncan quickly walked over to Atreyu's side with the goblet.

"Make him drink," the older Warden said as he handed the goblet over.

"Come on Fawn, drink this," Atreyu coxed, holding the goblet up to Raziel's mouth. Raziel's shaky hands rested on top of Atreyu's trying to hold the large goblet and just managed to swallow a mouth full of the Joining potion. Images, like a dark hazy green dream, filled Raziel's head while the song seemed to get louder. The pain in Raziel's body sharpened, making the Elf's back bow and his eyes turn white. "Come on Raziel, I know you can survive this," Atreyu whispered as he held his friend. He watched in horrid fascination as Raziel's usually honey toned eyes snapped open, solid white before falling black closed and his body going limp.

"He has survived the Joining," Duncan said in relief, watching Raziel's chest rise and fall. The dark veins where starting to fade away and color return to the Elf's sun kissed skin.

"Thank the gods," Atreyu said softly as he brushed Raziel's sweat soaked hair off his face.

"Step forward Jory," Duncan said as he stood and stepped toward the knight. Jory started shaking his head and backing away, reaching up to grab the sword on his back.

"But… I have a wife," Jory said. "Had I known…"

"There is no turning back," Duncan said in a low dark voice.

"No! You ask too much!" Jory said as he continued to back away his blade held in front of him ready to fight. "There is no glory in this!"

Atreyu watched Duncan sat the goblet down and drew the sword on his hip, advancing on Jory. Jory attacked Duncan, their blades crashing against each other one but when Jory tried again to hit Duncan, the older man easily slipped past his defenses and plunged his short sword into Jory's belly. The knight's mouth dropped open in a silent of pain while blood poured from the wound. Atreyu's mouth dropped open in shock as he watched, part of him couldn't believe Duncan had just killed the cowardly man.

"I am sorry," Duncan said before pulling his sword from Jory's body. Jory fell to the ground his arm wrapped around his middle as he quickly bled out on the ground. "But the Joining is not yet complete," Duncan said as he sheathed his blade and picked up the goblet once more. Atreyu gulped and gently laid Raziel on the ground, standing up. This was it, there was no refusing in taking the potion otherwise Duncan would do to him what he had done to Jory. So it was take the potion and hope it didn't kill him.

"You are called upon to submit yourself to the taint for the greater good," Duncan said. The Elf held out his hands for the goblet, missing the look of relief that had passed Duncan's face when the Elf didn't refuse as Jory had, and brought it up to his lips. The potion smelt as vile as the blood he had bled out of the Darkspawn earlier than day had, but strangely had a sweet scent to it as well. He drank a mouth full, forcing himself to swallow the nasty tasting concoction as he handed the goblet back to Duncan. At first nothing happen then his blood seem to burn, his head pounding as images of a large dragon in a haze of green filled his mind. His whole body seized in pain, the Elf throwing his head back and opening his mouth in silent pained scream, his eyes solid white.

"From this moment forth, you are a Grey Warden," Atreyu heard Duncan say, then he knew no more as he fell to the ground.

* * *

Atreyu groaned as he woke back up, his head was killing him! It was even worse than waking up from his Harrowing. He opened his eyes, seeing Duncan and Alistair standing above him.

"It is finished," Duncan said. "Welcome."

"That fucking hurt," Atreyu said as he sat up, rubbing his head.

"Atreyu!" Raziel, awake and recovered from his ordeal, tossed himself at the older Elf and hugged him. Atreyu wrapped his other arm around Raziel happy to see his little friend awake and ok.

"Two more deaths," Alistair said in sorrow as he stepped away. "In my Joining, only one of us died, but it was… horrible. I'm glad at least two of you made it through."

"Let me up Fawn," Atreyu said patting Raziel's back. Raziel let him go and stood up, helping Atreyu off the ground.

"How do you feel?" Duncan asked.

"That really hurt," Raziel said. "I've never felt any pain like it."

"It was more painful that my Harrowing, and I didn't think that was possible," Atreyu said. His tongue clicked in his mouth, he could still taste that foul potion on his tongue. He dug in the pouch on his hip and took out a couple of mint leaves, chewing on one and handing the other to Raziel who eagerly chewed on it. Duncan smiled slightly at them amused.

"Such is what it takes to be a Grey Warden," he said.

"Did you have dreams?" Alistair asked drawing everyone's attention to him. "I had terrible dreams after my Joining."

"I… don't remember. All I remember is the pain," Raziel said with a frown. "And that song…" Atreyu did somewhat remember a dream, one with a dragon. But the dream was faded now, he couldn't remember much.

"Such dreams come when you begin to sense the Darkspawn, as we all do," Duncan explained. "That and many other things can be explained in the months to come."

"Before I forget, there was one last part to your Joining," Alistair said, walking over to the table where the goblet was sitting. He started pouring the left over potion into two small vials then capped them over. The vials where hanging from short leather cords like a pendant. "We take some of the blood and put it in a pendant. Something to remind us… of those who didn't make it this far."

The pendants were handed over to the two Elves, Raziel tying his around his neck while Atreyu studied his for a moment. It had little runes scratched into the back, reminding him of the phylacteries that held the mages' blood at the tower.

"Take some time," Duncan said to the pair of Elves. "I am sure the both of you are starving by now."

"I am," Raziel said his stomach grumbling in agreement. This was the first time in days that he didn't feel sick at all and it just reminded him how he had been unable to keep much down. Atreyu tied the cord of the pendant around his neck, letting it hang at the base of his neck, and nodded to Duncan.

"Come on then, I know the others have got a feast already set up to welcome you two," Alistair said joyfully as he wrapped his arm around Raziel's shoulder to lead him away. As Atreyu started to follow them but was stopped by Duncan's hand on his arm.

"When you are ready, I'd like you to accompany me to a meeting with the king," he said softly.

"Huh? Why me?" Atreyu asked.

"You are highly intelligent, and I can see that you understand why we Grey Wardens do what we do," Duncan said. "It is also at the request of the king that another Warden to be at the meeting."

"Duncan, let me ask something," Atreyu said. When Duncan nodded for him to go ahead Atreyu asked, "was it really necessary to kill Jory? I honestly want to know."

"Atreyu, the Grey Wardens will do whatever is necessary to fight against the Darkspawn and the Archdemon, do anything we can to end a Blight," Duncan said in a serious tone. "I did not take pleasure from killing Ser Jory, if I had any other choice I would have let him go but then he would tell others about how the Joining was done."

"I guess I can understand that," Atreyu said. "Still, it was brutal."

"It was, and I am sorry I had to take his life and made his wife a widow," Duncan said. "You will find the Wardens will do many questionable things, things that most people look down upon but allow us to do anyway as we are the only ones able to fight the Darkspawn and the blight. As such, we will accept anyone willing to take up the fight, even a Maleficar."

"You… would take a blood mage into the Grey Wardens?" Atreyu asked blinking crystal blue eyes in surprise.

"Yes, we've had Mage Wardens in the past who were blood mages," Duncan said with a nod of his head.

"You must be really unpopular with the Chantry," Atreyu said with a shake of his head. Duncan's lips quirked slightly into a smile.

"Yes, but they know that we are needed to fight the Darkspawn," Duncan reminded him. "So they leave us be even if it does anger them. Now, go and join your friend for a meal then meet me after to go to the meeting."

"Sure Duncan," Atreyu said with a slight smile of his own, walking off with his mind on other things. He wonder what would have happen if Jowan hadn't ran after knocking all the Templars on their backs in the Tower, would Duncan had taken Jowan with them? He would never know.

* * *

Atreyu left the old temple ruins and headed back out into camp.

"Atreyu!" Raziel said as he rejoined his friend's side. "What took you?"

"Duncan wanted to speak to me about something," Atreyu said.

"Well I saved you some dinner before Alistair could eat it all, that Shem has a bottomless stomach," Raziel said as he held up a plate full of food.

"He does seem the type doesn't he," Atreyu said with a smile. "Thank you Fawn. Come on, I want to give the flower to the kennel master before I eat." Raziel nodded and followed the older Elf through the camp, holding the both Atreyu and his own plate of food. "How's our friend?" Atreyu asked as they approached the pens.

"The mabari is stable for now, but not improving," The kennel master said. "Unless I get that herb I told you about, there's not much hope."

"I believe this is the herb you wanted," Atreyu said as he took out the flower carefully from his pouch. Falkor stuck his nose through the bars of the pen, sniffing at the dog inside.

"Let me see…" the man took the flower from Atreyu and looked it over, a grin spreading on his face. "Yes, that's exactly it, wonderful! Give me a moment and I'll make this into an ointment." Atreyu and Raziel sat down by the outside of the pen, starting in on their dinner and sharing a water skin. The kennel master whipped up the ointment then entered the pen to treat the mabari. A few minutes later he came back out looking satisfied. "He looks better already. I'm sure he'd thank you himself, if he could."

"I'm just happy to hear the dog is doing better," Atreyu said as he wiped his mouth on his sleeve and fed Falkor his scrapes. The wolf huffed happily and ate from the plate as Atreyu stood. "How long do you think it'll take him to improve?" He asked looking into the pen.

"I'd give it a day or two," the kennel master said. "Hey, why don't you come back after the battle, we'll see about getting this fellow imprinted on you." Atreyu smiled slightly then shook his head.

"Thank you but no, I already have a bond," he waved his hand at Falkor who was chewing on a bone.

"Oh… well what about you then?" the man asked Raziel.

"Umm… no thank you," Raziel said with a shake of his head.

"Well that's too bad… let me know if you change your minds," the kennel master said as he went to check on the other dogs.

"Marbari's aren't as good as wolves anyway," Atreyu said to Raziel softly who gave a soft laugh.

"Atreyu," Duncan called from nearby. Atreyu sighed and nodded his head.

"Sorry Fawn, Duncan wants me to be in on the war meeting for some reason," Atreyu said to his friend.

"Alright… I guess I'll go over and get to know the other Wardens?" Raziel looked over at the Warden part of the camp. He was not use to being around so many humans and he felt very shy without Atreyu being there with him.

"Don't worry, it'll be alright," Atreyu said as he ruffled the other's hair then walked off with Duncan, Falkor on his heels.

* * *

As they approached the area where the war council was set up, Atreyu could hear King Cailan's voice echo through the ruins.

"Loghain, my decision is final," Cailan said. "I will stand by the Grey Wardens in this assault." Cailan was standing at a long table set up at the far end of the ruins. By his side stood a human man with a very dour appearance, with shallow skin and a face framed by stringy black hair that seemed stuck in a frown. As Atreyu and Duncan rounded the end of the table to go stand on the other side across from Cailan and the man that must be Loghain, they passed a Chantry mother and one of the senior Enchanters from the Tower.

"You risk too much, Cailan!" Loghain said. "The Darkspawn horde is too dangerous for you to be playing hero on the front lines." Duncan crossed his arms over his chest while Atreyu leaned a hip against the table, glancing down at it. On top of the table laid a map of the surrounding area and the fortress.

"If that's the case, perhaps we should wait for the Orlesian forces to join us, after all," Cailan said with a glint in his blue eyes, knowing how Loghain would react to the suggestion.

"I must repeat my protest to your fool notion that we need the Orlesians to defend ourselves!" Loghain all but yelled in a frustrated tone as he turned his back on the other man. Atreyu remembered where he heard the name Loghain now, during the history lessons at the Tower. The man in front of him was one of the powerful players in freeing Ferelden from Orlesian Empire's hold alongside Cailan's father King Maric.

_'Not surprised he would be against the Orlesian's help, I bet this Loghain guy doesn't have any fond memories of them,'_ Atreyu mused.

"It's not a 'fool notion'," Cailan argued. "Our arguments with the Orlesians are a thing of the past…. And you will remember who is king."

"How fortunate Maric did not live to see his son ready to hand Ferelden over to those who enslaved us for a century!" Loghain said in disgust as he rubbed his forehead then clenched both of his fists in anger as he remembered what happen in his youth when Orlais still controlled the land.

"Then our current forces will have to suffice, won't then?" Cailan said in a satisfied tone knowing he won this round. He turned back around to face Duncan. "Duncan, are your men ready for battle?"

"They are, your Majesty," Duncan said as he let his arms fall back to his sides.

"And this is one of the recruits I met earlier on the road?" Cailan asked as he looked at Atreyu who quickly straightened up. "I understand congratulations are in order."

"Thank you, your Majesty," Atreyu said with a slight bow.

"Every Grey Warden is needed now," Cailan said. "You should be honored to join their ranks. What of your friend, the Dalish Elf. Did he make it as well?"

"Raziel? Yes, he is a Grey Warden as well your Majesty," Atreyu said. Cailan let a small smile pass his lips.

"Good, I am glad to hear that and pass my congratulations on to him as well then," the young king said. Atreyu nodded his head in agreement while Loghain rolled his eyes behind Cailan's back.

"Your fascination with glory and legends will be your undoing, Cailan," Loghain said. "We must attend to reality."

"Fine, speak your strategy," Cailan said with a small shrug of his shoulders then leaned over the table pointing to the map of the lands around the fortress. "The Grey Wardens and I draw the Darkspawn into charging our lines and then…?"

"You will alert the tower to light the beacon, signaling my men to charge from cover," Loghain finished as he also leaned over the map, bands braced against the table.

"To flank the Darkspawn, I remember," Cailan eagerly broke in. He pointed to a tower on the map. "This is the Tower of Ishal in the ruins, yes? Who shall light this beacon?"

"I have a few men stationed there," Loghain said as he pushed away from the table. "It's not a dangerous task, but it _is_ vital."

"Then we should send our best," Cailan announced, he had been waiting for an opening like this since Loghain first told him of his plan and waited until others were around before announcing his decision. He stood up and looked at Duncan and Atreyu. "Send Alistair and the two new Grey Wardens to make sure it's done."

"Wait, I thought you needed all the Grey Wardens for the battle," Atreyu said confused.

"We need the beacon," Duncan said, Cailan had discussed this plan with him in private and agreed with it. "Without it, Loghain's men won't know when to charge."

"You see? Glory for everyone!" Cailan said cheerfully. Atreyu didn't know about this whole 'glory' thing Cailan was stuck on, he didn't let himself nearly get killed by joining the Grey Wardens for glory.

"You rely on these Grey Wardens too much," Loghain cut in. "Is that truly wise?" Atreyu was starting to wonder what Loghain's problem was with the Wardens, he was protesting about them as much as he was against the Orlesians.

"Enough of your conspiracy theories, Loghain," Cailan said firmly, tired of hearing this from his father-in-law. "Grey Wardens battle the Blight, no matter where they are from."

"Your Majesty, you should consider the possibility of the Archdemon appearing," Duncan said trying to get them back on track.

"There have been no signs of any dragons in the Wilds," Loghain was quick to say. Atreyu had to bite his lip, he doubted Loghain had searched _all_ the Wilds, he remembered dragons living far to the south in his youth so what did this Shemlen know.

"Isn't that what your men are here for, Duncan?" Cailan asked.

"I… yes, your Majesty," Duncan said with a small sigh.

"Your Majesty, the tower and its beacon are unnecessary," The mage at the table said. Atreyu instantly recognized him as Senior Enchanter Uldred, the man had always creep him out. Just something about him that set Atreyu on edge…. "The Circle of Magi-"

"We will not trust any lives to your spells, mage!" The Chantry mother interrupted in a harsh tone as she too stepped forward. Uldred gave the woman a look of hate and there Atreyu couldn't blame the man, typical Chantry attitude toward magic. "Save them for the Darkspawn!"

"Enough!" Loghain interrupted them both. "This plan will suffice. The Grey Wardens will light the beacon."

"Thank you, Loghain; I cannot wait for that glorious moment!" Cailan said with a grin. "The Grey Wardens battle beside the king of Ferelden to stem the tide of evil!"

_'Wow, he is really stuck on this _'glory'_ thing. Even I could tell him battles are never like the ones in the story books,'_ Atreyu thought as he turned away slightly to roll his eyes again. _'The Shemlen king seems like a nice guy but how the hell does this guy run his land?'_

Loghain turned around and walked away from the table, pausing for just a moment. "Yes, Cailan. A glorious moment for us all."

"Duncan, stay behind for a moment will you?" Cailan asked as the meeting broke up.

"Of course, your Majesty," Duncan said. "Atreyu, head back to the camp if you will."

"Sure," Atreyu said. Near the entrance to that part of the ruins, a hand shot out and grabbed the Elf by the arm.

"Atreyu," Uldred said as he stepped out of the shadows. "I was very pleased to hear that you passed your Harrowing."

"Errr… thanks Senior Enchanter," Atreyu said uneasily as he tried to pull away from Uldred's grip, the man tightening his hold slightly.

"Please, I think like this we are more equals, you are allowed to call me by my name," Uldred said. "And now a Grey Warden, my you are moving up in the world my dear boy."

"I didn't join the Wardens to move up in the world, Senior Enchanter," Atreyu said as he jerked his arm out of Uldred's grip at last. "I joined them as I felt I could do the most good here."

"Of course my dear boy, I meant you no disrespect toward your reasoning to becoming a Warden," Uldred said as he clasped his hands behind his back. Atreyu have him a strained smile and a small bow.

"If you excuse me," the Elven youth said then quickly walked away. "Creep."

Uldred watched Atreyu until the younger mage disappeared from his sight then chuckled and walked away. Only a matter of time….

* * *

"You heard the plan," Duncan said some time later. He was standing next to the fire facing Atreyu, Alistair and Raziel. By Atreyu's side Falkor laid, the wolf resting his head on Atreyu's foot. "You, Raziel and Alistair will go to the Tower of Ishal and ensure the beacon is lit."

"What?" Alistair asked in shock. "I won't be in the battle?"

"This is by the king's personal request, Alistair," Duncan said. "If the beacon is not lit, Teyrn Loghain's men won't know when to charge."

"So he needs three Grey Wardens standing up there holding the torch. Just in case, right?" Alistair asked sarcastically.

"I don't like it either but that is where we need to be," Atreyu said.

"Atreyu is right, if King Cailan wishes Grey Wardens to ensure the beacon is lit, then Grey Wardens will be there," Duncan said. "We must do whatever it takes to destroy the Darkspawn… exciting or no."

"I get it, I get it. Just so you know, if the king asks me to put on a dress and dance the Remigold, I'm drawing the line," Alistair said jokingly with a grin. "Darkspawn or no."

"I would pay to see that," Atreyu said with a grin.

"I think you would look very pretty in a dress," Raziel tried to say in a serious tone then dissolved into laughter.

"Ha ha," Alistair said but smiled at the pair of laughing Elves. "For you two, maybe. But it has to be a pretty dress." Duncan sighed and shook his head at the three silly junior Wardens.

"So where is the tower?" Raziel asked once he calmed down from his laughter.

"The tower is on the other side of the gorge from the King's camp, the way we came in when we arrived," Duncan explained. "You'll need to cross the gorge and head through the gate and up to the tower entrance. From the top, you'll overlook the entire valley."

"I guess that sounds easy enough," Atreyu said.

"We will signal you when the time is right," Duncan continued. "Alistair will know what to look for."

"What about after the beacon is lit?" Atreyu asked. "Are we to join the battle then?"

"Stay with the teyrn's men and guard the tower," Duncan ordered. "If you are needed, we will send word."

"We understand Duncan," Atreyu said.

"Good," Duncan said. "The battle will start tomorrow night, I will be with the others. From that point on you three are on your own. Remember, you three are Grey Wardens, I expect you to be worthy of that title."

"We will."  
"Yes hahren," The two Elven Wardens said the same time.

"Duncan… may the Maker watch over you," Alistair said softly.

"May He watch over us all," Duncan agreed. "Take tonight to relax, I'm sure the rest of the Wardens and the King's troops are eager to welcome you two fully. But be on your guard."

"We'll be fine Duncan," Atreyu said. Duncan nodded and turned to the fire while Alistair cheerfully lead the two Elves away to others in the camp, Raziel waited on Atreyu before going to meet everyone.

* * *

Later that night someone broke out the ale and mead, making a good portion of the camp good and drunk. The Chantry mother sniffed in disapproval at the sinning the men and few women were doing, making sure the Sisters of the Chantry were safely hidden away within the Chantry's tent. Musical instruments were brought out and food served, quickly making the whole thing into one large party. One last chance to have a bit of fun before the battle.

Neither Raziel nor Atreyu were enjoying themselves at all. The human's loud music and drunken yelling were giving both Elves headaches, Raziel had his hands pressed over his ears while Atreyu's was pressed back against his skull like a displeased cat.

"My head hurts lethallin," Raziel said over the loud music.

"Mine too Fawn," Atreyu said. The sound was grating on the Elves sensitive hearing, creating the pounding headache they both had. The older Elf finally had enough and grabbed Raziel's hand, pulling his younger friend behind him. "Come on, let's find someplace quiet." Raziel eagerly followed, Falkor trotting ahead of them. Other than a couple of drunken yells from a few guards for the two Elves to bring them more food and drink, no one seem to notice Raziel and Atreyu's get away as they found a path that lead further into the ruins and away from everyone else. Except for King Cailan, pleasantly buzzed from the very fine ale he was drinking, who saw the two young Wardens leave out of the corner of his eye.

The further in to the ruins they went, the more the old stones muffled the sound of the camp until it was nothing but a faint noise, even to the Elves hearing. Raziel sighed in relief and sat down next to the wall.

"Thank the Creators," He said softly. "How can they stand all that noise?"

"Who knows, but with the way they were drinking, they may be just as irritated with sound as we were by their 'music'," Atreyu said as he walked over to a clump of trees that had grown inside the little old courtyard they found and started gathering limbs. Seeing what Atreyu was doing, Raziel quickly started digging a fire pit and used little pieces of rubble he found to surround it.

"Why?" Raziel asked.

"Hangovers," Atreyu said with a wicked grin. "The alcohol will make their heads hurt in the morning after they fall asleep, making all sounds seem too loud and grate on their minds. Well… maybe not all of them, some people can handle their alcohol better that others, but I'm sure the healers they have will be very busy making sure everyone is battle ready."

"Shemlen are so strange," Raziel said with a laugh as he helped Atreyu arrange the tree limbs in the fire pit then sat back watching as the older Elf set them on fire.

"Hey, it can be fun getting drunk, I have in the past," Atreyu said as he sat down.

"Really?" Raziel asked with wide honey toned eyes as he sat down next to Atreyu. Falkor lay down between the Elves and placed his head under Raziel's hand wanting the Dalish to pet him with a whine.

"Yes, me and my friends, Anders, Silver and… and Jowan," Atreyu closed his eyes for a brief moment thinking about his best friend… if he could even call Jowan that anymore, "we would sometimes steal some of the drinks that the Templars would bring into the tower. Secretly of course, if Greagior knew he would have had a fit as he wanted his knights to be always ready at a moment's notice in case the 'big bad scary' mages decided to revolt." Atreyu rolled his eyes and scoffed while Raziel laughed. "And Wynne likes to collect really fancy wines, sometimes we would steal one of her bottles and drink from it."

"Was life at that tower really that bad?" Raziel asked curious. Atreyu sighed and leaned back on his hands, looking up into the night sky.

"I won't lie Raziel, it pretty horrible at times," He said. "And the Tower of Magi is considered one of the _better_ Circles in Thedas for mages but I think that is mostly because Irving works so hard to protect everyone and thinks Mages should be able to use their gifts for the 'good of mankind' instead of being locked away. Our every move was always watched by the Templars, day and night. Sometimes you could slip away to a quiet corner or nook in the tower but not often. The Templars could drag you off for questioning at any moment just for looking at them funny, or if they didn't like you or… well the list really goes on."

"They sound horrible," Raziel said. Atreyu sighed and shrugged his shoulders.

"Most are, yeah. You might find a decent one or two amount the Templars but for the most part they are some of the most horrible people on this world," Atreyu said. "Some would even go as far as raping some of the girls in the Tower." Raziel gasped and pressed a hand to his mouth.

"T-they would really do that?" He asked in a soft tone. Atreyu nodded and sighed.

"Some would yeah," he said. "But not all, but it seems like at times you really had to look hard to find just _one_ decent person in the group… let's not talk about it anymore, please?"

"Ir abelas Atreyu, I didn't mean-" Raziel started to say with a blush. Atreyu laughed and ruffled his younger friend's hair.

"Don't worry yourself Fawn, you were only curious," He said. "I'm away from that now and hopefully one day I'll be able to fully put it in my past." Raziel, still blushing a bit, grinned up at his friend.

"Alright," he said. Atreyu returned the smile then reached into the pouch on his hip. Raziel watched the silver hair Elf take out the dragon headed reed flute, 'oo'ing over it in awe then settling in as Atreyu started to play. Low soft notes started to drift over the courtyard, beautiful and haunting at the same time. After a few minutes, Raziel started to sing his tenor voice floating into the night, Atreyu changing his playing to match Raziel's song as the other sang.

* * *

A few minutes after the pair of Elves left, Cailan snuck away from his guards, an easy task as they were quite tipsy at the moment.

_'Loghain is going to kill me for going anywhere without any guards,'_ Cailan thought in glee. He had known Loghain all his life, grown up with the man always there as a close friend of his father's. He was a man to be admired, there was no doubt about that but Loghain's insistence that he shouldn't rely so much on the Grey Wardens or even fight by his side… what sorta king would he be if he didn't try to fight for his people? His father had after all, Maric had fought against the Orlesians to bring peace back to Ferelden. He knew why Loghain was against the Orlesians's help in battle but this was a whole new generation of Orlesians, they had to move forward to put the past behind them.

Don't get him wrong, Cailan knew that many nobles from Orlais would like nothing more that to have Ferelden back under their control but that was the same for any country trying to expand their borders, so he was wary about who he spoke to and worked with. He wasn't as stupid or simple as many people thought he was. Still, no matter what Loghain's feelings were to the matter, there was no reason to extend them to the Wardens, the noble order didn't deserve the hate they got for doing what others could not.

Cailan quietly snuck down the path he saw Atreyu and Raziel take, glancing back every now and then to see if anyone noticed or followed him. He grinned as the further away he got from the camp the more it seemed no one was dogging his footsteps.

_'Now, where did those two Wardens get to?'_ Cailan thought as he explored, he never been in this part of the Ostagar ruins, there was a certain amount of haunting beauty to it and it was a shame that a lot of it would likely be destroyed during the battle tomorrow. As he got further and further away from the rowdy party going on in the main camp, Cailan could hear the sweet music of a flute and a soft voice singing.

_"Listen, my child," you say to me  
'I am the voice of your history  
Be not afraid, come follow me  
Answer my call, and I'll set you free'_

_I am the voice in the wind and the pouring rain  
I am the voice of your hunger and pain  
I am the voice that always is calling you  
I am the voice, I will remain"_

_'The Dalish has a really nice voice,'_ Cailan mused as he took a second to observe the two Elves. The little Dalish was rocking slightly side to side as he sang while the mage Elf matched the song on the flute he was play. _'The mage plays will also. I wonder if they offer music lessons at the Tower of Magi?'_

_"I am the voice of the past that will always be  
Filled with my sorrow and blood in my fields  
I am the voice of the future, bring me your peace  
Bring me your peace, and my wounds, they will heal_

_I am the voice in the wind and the pouring rain  
I am the voice of your hunger and-" _Raziel's singing was cut off as the large white wolf between then suddenly stood and growled, facing Cailan's way as he caught the human's scent. The sweet music form Atreyu's flute abruptly stopped and he turned to face Cailan, blue eyes seeming to cut straight through the king.

"King Cailan," Atreyu said as he recognized the human, placing a gentle hand on the wolf's back. Falkor's growling died down but he didn't move from his protective stance between the Elves. Atreyu and Raziel started to stand but stopped as Cailan shook his head and held up his hands.

"No don't, I said before we're to shed blood together, there is no need to be so formal here," he said. "I'm curious as to why you left the feast, part of it was to welcome you after all." The two Elves looked at each other for a moment before answering.

"No offence ser, but noise from the feast was grating and painful to us," Atreyu explained.

"Painful?" Cailan asked. Atreyu reached up and tapped one of the long tapered ears on the side of his head.

"Our hearing is sensitive, really sensitive," He explained. "As are our ears in general. Our hearing is much better than a human's as such the sounds were giving us a headache."

"I had… no idea," Cailan said. "Hmm, that must be why the servant Elves in the camp looked like they were in pain…."

"Umm… did you want something?" Raziel asked softly.

"Oh… I…" Cailan swallowed softly, he had hoped to get the two Elves alone before the battle tomorrow night and the chance now was too good to pass up. But he knew how strange his request was going to sound to them. "I-I have a request for the two of you, if I may?"

Atreyu and Raziel glanced at each other in confusion, wondering just what the King of Ferelden wanted from a couple of Elves.

"What is it?" Atreyu asked at last.

"Alistair. Could… please watch over him tomorrow while in the tower," Cailan requested softly. "I know tis a strange request to make but-"

"Alright," Atreyu said. Cailan blinked and looked at Atreyu.

"Really?" the king asked.

"You're right, it is a strange question to get from the king to watch after a common Grey Warden but it's important to you," Atreyu said.

"And he's sorta like clan now, Dalish always watch over their clan mates," Raziel added. A smile crossed Cailan's face as he crossed his arms over his chest and bowed slightly.

"Thank you so much," He said. "You have no idea…. I suppose I should return to camp before Loghain finds I am missing and sends a search party. Thank you again, Grey Wardens. May the Maker watch over you both."

"That was a weird request," Raziel said after Cailan left.

"Yes, it was," Atreyu agreed.

It wasn't long before several of the servant Elves from the camp joined them, bringing food and drink and all sharing the same tale of the king approaching them to dismiss them for the night so their ears could have a rest from the noise.


	7. Chapter 7

Wilder Wardens

Author: USA Tiger

Disclaimer: The Dragon Age series is the property of BioWare. The LOtR Elven language belongs to J. R. R. Tolkien.

Author Note: Thanks goes out to my beta and head minion Asilyessam who checks behind me for grammar and spelling mistakes and checks that my lore is correct.

Chapter 7

The next morning Atreyu and Raziel woke to the camp in a flurry of motion. Any men, or women, that had hangovers were given a potion from the mages on the orders of the king. The two new Wardens stayed out of the way mostly, watching everyone scramble around to prepare for the battle that was coming upon them that night. There was a certain amount of nervousness and dread in the air, Atreyu could feel it on the wind that blew through the ruins. And he wasn't the only one, Raziel could feel it as well, the younger Elf gently biting his lip as he gazed out into the Wilds from he and Atreyu were hiding to keep out of the way.

"What's the matter Fawn?" Atreyu asked when he noticed.

"Do you feel like something big is going to happen, something life changing?" Raziel asked.

"You mean more than it already has?" Atreyu asked with a small smile that didn't reach his eyes. Raziel gave a small laugh and nodded. His older friend sighed and played with the amber amulet around his neck. "Yes, I feel it too, lethallin."

"What do we do?" Raziel asked as he felt a shiver go down his back and stepped closer to Atreyu.

"What can we do? It's not like we can up and run away. Well we can but I don't pin either of us as cowards," Atreyu said, chuckling as Raziel scowled and shook his head. "We do as we were ordered, we go up into that tower with Alistair and light the beacon so the rest of the army know when to attack. And we pray to the gods things turn out alright." He looked out at the horizon, he could see storm clouds starting to gather in the distance. He hoped this wasn't a bad omen.

* * *

The storm came in fast and by that night, the king's army stood ready. Atreyu and Raziel had join Alistair as the army started to gather, the larger man was a bundle of nerves pacing and forth as they waited to do their part. Raziel sat down next to Falkor on the ground, whispering soft prayers to the Creators while Atreyu watched the happenings down below in the gOgre and on the bridge.

Everyone who was not to be a part of the battle in some way had been sent north to Lothering, meaning all of the Elves that the two new Wardens had spent time with the night before, those who were not a part of the army itself, were long gone. So were many Chantry sisters and any merchants that had been there.

Atreyu watched below as the humans for the army shifted uneasily as they waited for the start of the battle. Watched the Mabari handlers pet and sooth the war dogs that barked and growled into the night. He could see any Chantry sister that was left blessing the fighters and praying to their Maker as they walked the battle lines.

And in the light of the fires he could see the golden armor that Cailan wore as he strode out on the battle field with Duncan by his side.

"The plan will work your Majesty," Duncan assured Cailan as the two of them joined the others.

"Of course it will," Cailan agreed, his voice having a hard edge to it. "The Blight ends here." They had to end it here, had to save Ferelden and the whole world from the Darkspawn. Cailan could only hope the unease he felt didn't come to pass.

A hush fell over the valley, leaving only the rumble of thunder in the air, as light appeared in the distance. Cailan stood up straighter as the Darkspawn army approached, stamping down the fear he had when he realized just how large it was. The small battles they had before with the Darkspawn had not prepared them for the sheer size they faced now.

"Maker's breath," Alistair said as he joined Atreyu is watching. "Look at the size of that army." Atreyu's grip tightened around his staff as the first line of Darkspawn stepped out of the forest.

"You're not kidding," he agreed softly blue eyes wide. The army was massive, filled with Genlocks and Hurlocks and even a few massive Ogres were seen. The Darkspawn came to a stop, their roars of challenge heard across the valley.

Down below Cailan's gaze swept back and forth over the other army, he could only hope the plan would work but at the same time was starting to believe it might not be enough.

One of the Hurlock Alphas signaled for the Darkspawn army to charge, the blighted creatures spilling forth like rabid dogs as they rushed toward Ostagar and the army that awaited them.

Cailan took a deep breath, a determined grim look on his face as he turned toward his army.

"Archers!" he called loudly. Instantly the arches, Human and Elves alike, readied their bows waiting for the signal. The man in front in charge of the archers waited, his hand raised high in the air, until the other army was close then swung his arm down in a signal to his men. A hail of flame-tipped arrows rained from the sky making Darkspawn falling under the assault. The fallen Darkspawn was trampled on by their follow Darkspawn as they continued to rush the field.

"Hounds!" Cailan called next. The Mabari handlers quickly released the Mabari hounds who rushed to meet the Darkspawn head on. It was a clash of fang and claw against the weapons of the Darkspawn as the hounds battled against the creatures, some Darkspawn taken down by the powerful bite of the Mabari bit just as many impaled on swords and pikes. Cailan and Duncan both turned their heads at the sight, just for a second, until Cailan raised his hand high in the air loudly shouting, "For Ferelden!" and lead the charge into battle.

"Come on, let's go," Atreyu said as the battle really started. He, Raziel, Alistair and Falkor ran across the bridge toward the tower, the two Elves and Alistair yelling and dodging out of the way as a flaming boulder launched by the Darkspawn via catapult smashed into the bridge, destroying part it if.

"Creators!"  
"Maker's breath, that was close!" Alistair said as he helped Raziel and Atreyu off the ground.

"You're telling me," Atreyu said. "Come on before another nearly hits us!" He quickly cast a barrier spell over himself, his two fellow Wardens and his wolf as arrows from the Darkspawn army started to rain down on the fortress. They ran the rest of the way across the bridge to where the tower rested. As they approached the outer courtyard in front of the tower entrance, two guards and a mage stopped them.

"You… you're Grey Wardens, aren't you?" One of the guards asked.

"Yes, we're the Grey Wardens," Alistair said.

"The tower… it's been taken!" the other guard said.

"What are you talking about, man?" Alistair explained. "Taken how?"

"The Darkspawn came up through the lower chambers!" the first guard explained, both he and his fellow guard and the mage turning to look up at the tower. "They're everywhere! Most of our men are dead!"

"We have to get to the beacon and light it ourselves!" Alistair exclaimed.

"Right, of course," Atreyu agreed. "You three, come with us. There's safety in numbers." The other three didn't even argue with Atreyu, happy that someone was taking charge. They flanked the trio of Wardens as they stormed the tower.

As they neared the tower, Atreyu and Raziel both felt something tug at the edge of their senses. As if something just right there, something foul yet familiar, and the tugging got stronger the closer they got to the tower.

"Darkspawn straight ahead!" Alistair warned as he recognized what the sensation was. The Darkspawn spotted them at the same time, roaring loudly and rushing to attack. Arrows buzzed past Atreyu's head who cursed loudly in Elven. Raziel looked around and quickly spotted the Genlock archer responsible for the attack, letting the others attack the nearby Darkspawn while he returned fire at the Genlock. Raziel's experience as a hunter kicked in and his aim was true at his arrows struck, killing the Darkspawn instantly.

"Where did you even learn to fight like that?" Alistair asked over the clang of swords hitting shields as he watched Atreyu spin and pop one of the Darkspawn over the head with his staff distracting it long enough to blast it in the face with a fire ball.

"I was considering training as a Battle Mage after I completed my Harrowing," Atreyu said as he ducked under at attempted swipe at his head, sweeping the Darkspawns's feet out from under it. One of the guards chopped off the Darkspawn's head once it was on the ground. "Battle Mages are in the thick of the battle instead of on the edge of it flinging spells. It would work a little better if I had a staff with a bladed end." The rest of the Darkspawn quickly fell, giving the group a moment to catch their breaths.

"What's a Battle Mage?" Raziel asked as he cleaned off his daggers.

"Like an Arcane Warrior, have the Dalish ever found information on them?" Atreyu asked.

"Oh yes! Not much, but they were warrior mages. Some scrolls the Keepers founds say that some Elves looked down upon them for taking up both sword and staff but they were very well respected none the less," Raziel said with a grin.

"Same concept, but different magics," Atreyu said. "No one has seen an Arcane Warrior in years, not even my tribe. No one remembers the spells, there are no books or scrolls, the order would pass on the spells in training."

"Hmm… interesting…" Alistair said. "Still, I think we can make a quick bladed staff for you. You still have some of the daggers we found in the Wilds?"

"Yes, why?" Atreyu asked.

"Give one here, one of the better made ones," Alistair held out his hand. Curious, Atreyu dug in his pack and found a good small steel dagger, watching as Alistair took his staff flipping it on its head and tied the dagger to the edge with a bit of rope. "There! Not perfect but if we survive this we can think of something better."

"Now why didn't I think of this," Atreyu said with amusement and was a bit impressed. He twirled the staff a bit, the dagger threw off its balance a bit but not too badly and he was able to easily adjust to the new weight. "Now, let's go kick more Darkspawn asses!"

* * *

When the group first entered the tower it was dark and quiet, only the sound of a fire crackling nearby could be heard. But the three Wardens could sense the nearby Darkspawn and Falkor could smell their fowl stench making the large white wolf growl.

"We are not alone here," Atreyu said as they walked into the large central chamber.

"There they are!" Alistair said as he pointed. There was wooden barrier in front in them that was on fire blocking their path, with only a gap between two pillars their only way in. Alistair was stepping through it when Raziel noticed the light glint off a wire between the two pillars and he grabbed the large man pulling Alistair back. "Hey! What was that for?"

"Trap," Raziel said as he knelt down and cut the wire.

"Whoa, didn't even see that there," Alistair said.

"Come on!" Atreyu said as he rushed past his fellow Wardens heading straight for a pair of Darkspawn with Falkor at his side. Falkor howled as he slammed into one of the Darkspawn, his powerful jaws clamping around its neck while Atreyu shocked and blinded the other Darkspawn with an electricity spell. The Hurlock howled and held a hand over its eyes leaving itself open to attack as Atreyu spun his newly bladed staff around and sliced the creature's neck open. The Darkspawn gurgled as it held its hands up to its neck and slumped to the ground quickly bleeding out from its wound.

Raziel at the same time sprinted over to another Hurlock Darkspawn and quickly stunned it before it could attack then started stabbing and cutting at all of the Darkspawn's vitals, ending with a stab through the heart. Alistair took on another one of the Darkspawn, slamming his shield into it and knocking the Darkspawn back. It staggered and shook its head trying to clear it but Alistair followed up with a swing of his sword, cutting the Darkspawn's head off then ran over to help the two guards that followed them in as they battled a couple of Genlocks. The mage that came with them shot off bolts of magic at the Darkspawn, offering healing spells as they went.

Atreyu grinned as he spun his staff in triumph, the dagger tied on to the edge of his staff worked out really well.

The band of six men, plus one wolf, quickly cleared the ground floor of the tower, finding the door that lead up to the next level, but on the way they passed a giant hole in the floor where the Darkspawn had broken through.

"Maker's breath! What are these Darkspawn doing ahead of the rest of the horde?" Alistair asked breathing heavily as he leaned lean forward resting his hands on his knees.

"I don't know," Atreyu said as with a shake of his head while Raziel leaned forward to look down the large hole in the floor. "But we do know how they got in," the silver hair Elf added as he pointed at the hole and the tunnel under it.

"There wasn't supposed to be any resistance here!" Alistair said.

"Well, you could try telling them they are in the wrong place," Atreyu quipped.

"Right," Alistair said with a roll of his eyes. "Because clearly this is all just a misunderstanding. We'll laugh about this later."

"Weren't you the one complaining last night about not being able to fight?" Raziel asked as he turned away from the hole at last as there didn't seem to be any more Darkspawn down inside.

"Hey… you're right," Alistair said perking up a bit. "Guess we got to fight in the battle after all. At any rate, we need to hurry! We need to get up to the top of the tower and light the signal fire in time! Teyrn Loghain will be waiting for the signal!"

"Well, tell the Darkspawn that!" Atreyu said as he headed up the next flight of stairs. "They're the ones slowing us down." The next floor of the tower was mostly open with large ballistas sitting ready for use nearby and just so happen to be facing a large group of Darkspawn. A manic grin crossed Atreyu's face as he raced over to one and triggered it, laughing loudly as a couple of Darkspawn were speared. "Ha! Take that!"

"Let me try," Raziel said with a laugh as he ran over to the other one and pulled the trigger. The kick back knocked the smaller Elf to the floor but he managed to kill a Hurlock that was leading the now charging group. They didn't have time to reload the two ballistas as the remaining Darkspawn bore down on them. Raziel's daggers came out and up to stop a Genlock's attempt to stab him then kicked out, landing a hit in the Genlock's privates. The Darkspawn groaned and staggered back in pain giving Raziel a chance to roll backwards to his feet. Alistair winced when he saw the kick.

"Why do you keep doing that?" He asked.

"Because it works," Raziel said wondering what the problem was. He plunged his daggers into the neck of the Genlock, killing it before it could defend itself. Atreyu froze the floor in front of the Darkspawn, laughing as the Darkspawn slid on the slick floor then fell into a pile of tangled limbs. He and the other mage in the group quickly cast a joint lightning spell, the metal on the Hurlocks' and Genlocks' armor channeling the electrical nicely. Alistair took advantage of the stunned Darkspawns' state to start stabbing and cutting off heads. The other two warriors in the group quickly followed Alistair's example.

"No really, why?" Alistair asked as they started running down the corridor.

"A Shemlen man attacked me and my friends Merrill and T-tamlen when we were young," Raziel said. "He was very drunk and had wondered into the clearing where we were playing. He didn't like Elves too much, called us 'knife ears', and when he tried to grab Merrill I kicked him between his legs. When he fell over in pain it gave us a chance to escape and let the nearby hunters do something about him. I always remembered it's a great way to distract an enemy."

"And a painful one to watch," Alistair added under his breath. The group met many more Darkspawn, arrows, blades and spells flying to take them down. Atreyu's pet wolf growled and took out a Darkspawn that attempted to sneak up on his master, the large wolf easily tearing its throat out.

On the third floor of the tower, the second room contained cages full of Mabaris that were barking and growling as they threw themselves against the doors of their pens attempting to get to the Darkspawn in the room with them.

"Hey! Pull that lever and let the hounds out!" Alistair said as an idea came to his mind. "They can help us with the Darkspawn."

Raziel ran over to the lever by the first cage while Atreyu quickly cast a barrier spell around his friend to block a sickly green bolt of magic from a Genlock emissary. As soon as the cage doors were open, the Mabari rushed out and tackled the Darkspawn ripping them limb from limb.

"Hmm, gruesome," Atreyu said as he leaned against this staff and watched the pack of dogs work.

"Yuck," Raziel agreed. Atreyu could have sworn one of the tower guard's faces was turning green. They exited the room as soon as the Darkspawn were dead and circled around the tower floor to the next staircase that lead upstairs to the final floor of the tower.

As the group ran in, they all skidded to a stop in shock and disgust. There, standing next to a fire that had started in the room, stood a very large Ogre who was snacking one of the many dead bodies in the room. The Ogre turned its head and saw the 6 men, wiping a large hand across its mouth as it turned to face them. The huge Darkspawn roared loudly at the group, a shower of spit coming from the creature's mouth.

"Well… that's disgusting," Atreyu said dryly.

"Get ready! Here it comes!" Alistair said as the Ogre ran at the group. Atreyu and the other tower mage quickly cast a Winter's Grasp and Cone of Cold on the Ogre freezing it in place. Raziel quickly whipped out his bow and started to shoot arrow after arrow at the giant Darkspawn staying out of Alistair and the two tower guards' way as they rushed the Ogre and attacked it.

Spells and arrows sailed over the heads of the men as the Ogre broke free of its icy prison and snatched one of the two guards. The man screamed in fright that was quickly cut off as the Ogre tore him in half and tossed the man's body away. The other tower guard faulted at seeing his partner ripped in two.

"Don't stop!" Alistair told him as he used his shield to knock away the Ogre's hand as it reached for him then pierced the Ogre's belly with his blade. The Ogre roared in pain, one hand pressed to the bleeding wound on its stomach, only to be knocked back as a Stone Fist from Atreyu hit it right in the head. Landing heavily on its back stunned gave Alistair a chance to quickly climb on top of the Darkspawn and thrust downward with his blade stabbing the Darkspawn in the heart. The thing jerked once then when still in death. "There's the beacon. Light it!" He said pointing at where the beacon was set up ready to be lit.

Atreyu ran over and set a small fire ball into the wood. The fire raced up and it the large pile on the roof, the two Elves could faintly hear cheering below. Excited Raziel ran over to the windows facing the battle ground to watch.

"Atreyu come here! We can watch Loghain's army swoop in," Raziel said with an excited bounce. Atreyu laughed and walked over to stand next to his young friend and watch the battle. "Look! Look! There's Loghain's army!" The Dalish said pointing.

* * *

Down below on the battle group, the whole battle seem to pause just for a moment as the Tower of Ishal lit up brightly. Cailan's army and the Grey Wardens on the field cheered loudly and waited for Loghain's troops to join them.

On the other side of the battle field Loghain watched the beacon as it flared up on top of the tower. What he said next shocked his second in command Ser Cauthrine to the core.

"Sound the retreat," he said.

"But…" Cauthrine said as quickly turned to face her superior," what about the king? Should we not-" Loghain turned and grabbed Cauthrine's arm in a tight grip.

"Do as I command," Loghain said harshly. Cauthrine looked down where Loghain griped her arm and jerked it out of his hold. Loghain gave her one final harsh glare then turned away. Cauthrine, confused and worried as to why Loghain was abandoning the battle, did as she was told and turned toward the troops.

"Pull out! All of you, let's move!" she commanded. Some of the troops gave each other confused looks but turned and marched off the battle field and toward safety. Loghain turned his head to watch as the men under his command started to march then turned back to look at the tower in the distance then turned and walked away.

* * *

"What… what is he doing!?" Raziel asked as they watched.

"Umm Alistair, you might want to come see this," Atreyu called over his shoulder. Alistair blinked and looked up from cleaning his sword of Darkspawn blood and guts. Curious to what was going on, he placed the sword in the scabbard on his back and walked over to the windows looking out.

"What!?" Alistair yelled when Atreyu pointed at the retreating army. "L-loghain is retreating! That… that traitor!"

"Shit…" Atreyu said as he looked over at the battle going on down below. "The people down there are getting slaughtered; they could use Loghain's men help."

"No!" Alistair cried as he looked down as well. Raziel growled and removed one of the arrows from the quiver on his back, aiming it toward Loghain. Both Atreyu and Alistair turned their heads as they heard the twang of Raziel's bow and the youth cursing softly as he missed his target.

"What are you doing?" Atreyu asked.

"I am going to kill that traitor," Raziel said as he aimed another arrow, taking much more careful aim this time. Alistair shifted closer to watch and accidently knocked into Raziel's arm sending the next arrow flying into the battle below. "Fenedhis lasa! Now he's too far away for me to hit!"

"Sorry," Alistair quickly apologized. Raziel pouted and hoped that his arrow at least hit a Darkspawn below.

* * *

Down on the battle field it was pure chaos as men and women, Human and Elf, fought against the Darkspawn. The joy and excitement that had welled up in the people had quickly died as it became clear that Loghain's men were not joining the battle.

Never Cailan nor Duncan had time to think on this, both fighting for their lives against their foes. The ground was slippery with blood and gore, sweat pouring into Cailan's eyes as he ran one of the Darkspawn through with his sword then quickly pushed it off his blade to attack the next one. He could see Duncan, a man he so admired and respected, only a few feet away from him pushing one of the larger Darkspawn bodies away then pause for a moment.

It was the only warning Cailan received, that one little glance at Duncan, before a low growl filled the air. Cailan turned as a giant sized horned Darkspawn, one he remembered that was referred to as an Ogre, lumber into view. The young king attempted ward off the attack by the Ogre but his blade only seem to bounce off the Darkspawn's hand and he didn't get another chance to attack as it grabbed him up by the waist. A dawning look of pure horror filled Cailan's face as he was brought up face to face with the Ogre who roared loudly in his face, showering him with spit and nearly making him gag by the foul breath.

Panic filled Cailan as the Ogre started to squeeze him, his armor protesting and his ribs feeling crushed, and he started to struggle to get away. He looked around the field, he could see Duncan on the ground looking up in horror to stunned to move but he knew it would be too late even Duncan had been moving toward them. Cailan knew this was the end for him and he would be dead very soon.

Suddenly, the pressure on his body slackened and a sharp sting was felt on his cheek. He reached up and touched his cheek then looked down at his fingers, on the tips of his gauntlet was stained red with his blood. Cailan looked up at the Darkspawn, the Ogre stood there for a second longer missing an eye and when Cailan glanced at the ground he could see an arrow stuck in the ground, the feathered end swaying back and forth with the Ogre's eyeball stuck on the shaft. Cailan slipped from the Ogre's slack grip and stumbled backwards his legs feeling very weak suddenly. He fell back onto the ground on his arse as the Ogre swayed side to side before gravity decided to take a hold of it and it came crashing down.

Cailan was still in too much shock form his near death as he sat dumbfounded on the ground so he did not move out of the way as the Ogre all by fell on top of him. The tip of one of the Ogre's large horns scratched Cailan's face across his left eye, just barely missing taking out that eye in the process.

"Your Majesty!" Duncan said as he collapsed to his knees next to Cailan and pushed the Ogre's body off the king.

"I-I am fine Duncan," Cailan said as he seem to find his voice climbing to his feet and grabbing his sword quickly that he had dropped when the Ogre snatched him up. Duncan checked his lord over, Cailan had a deep gash on his right cheek and another over his left eye, both of which would end up scarring.

"King Cailan, you need to flee from here," Duncan said. It was clear the battle was a lost cause with Loghain abandoning the battle, most of the men on the field were dead by now.

"No Duncan, I will not abandon the battle!" Cailan yelled not believing the man would ask him of such a thing. Duncan swore in Riviani and grabbed Cailan's arm, pulling the younger man closer to him and staring into Cailan's blue eyes.

"You are the _king_ Cailan and you will do your people no good dead!" Duncan said. "The Maker himself saved your life just now, do now waste this chance to get away!" Cailan looked like he had been slapped and swallowed hard.

"What about Alistair then? I cannot just leave-" He started to argue.

"Alistair will get himself out, trust your brother your Majesty," Duncan said hoping himself it was true. "Now go! I will cover your escape!" He pushed Cailan away hoping the younger man would listen to him for once. Cailan hesitated just for a second longer then nodded and took off, slashing at and running through any Darkspawn that got in his way.

Duncan fought like a man possessed as he renewed his attacks on the Darkspawn, fighting like a Mabari to keep the blighted creatures from following Cailan. But soon Duncan's injuries were too much for him and he collapsed to his knees. A Hurlock Alpha wielding a double-sided axe rushed at him and swung its weapon at Duncan's neck.

The last thought Duncan had as he looked up at the burning tower of Ishal was a hope that both of Maric's sons would escape alive…. Then nothing.

Everything was a blur as Cailan ran. He tried not to think about Duncan most likely dying if not already dead behind him. About his younger brother, whom he never spoke too but always watched over from afar, still up in that tower. About the men and women whom he had lead out here to their deaths. Tried not to think of Loghain's betrayal. He could only pray to the Maker he made it off this battle field alive, that Alistair escaped as well. But the edge of the field looked so far away and there were so many Darkspawn around them, closing in on him that Cailan was sure he was not going to make it.

A loud bellowing roar filled the air just then, startling not only Cailan but the Darkspawn around him as well. A large dark shape flew through the air above the battle and when Cailan looked up he paled greatly. It was a dragon and his first thought that it was the Archdemon, leader of the Darkspawn. So he was very surprised when the dragon landed on the group, great wings and powerful tail knocking Darkspawn everywhere, then took a deep breath before breathing a jet stream of red hot fire on the Darkspawn.

Cailan's mouth dropped open; the dragon was attacking the Darkspawn! He didn't understand, why would the Archdemon attack its own troops? Unless of course this wasn't the Archdemon but another dragon altogether. But even then, why would it attack the Darkspawn? Cailan had no answer to that question and no time to figure it out as the dragon finished killing the Darkspawn around it then turned its head and snapped Cailan up in its jaws. He yelled in surprise and waited for the dragon to tear him in two. The attack never came, instead the dragon took to the air instead, holding Cailan between its very sharp and pointy teeth as it flew toward the tower. The dragon's powerful jaws bit down onto Cailan just enough to keep him from falling.

The dragon hovered in the air outside of the tower of Ishal, kept in the air by beats of its mighty wings then spun around hitting the top of the tower with its tail and sending stone and fire down to crush some of the Darkspawn below. Cailan shielded his eyes as dust and pieces of stone flew through the air. When he was able to look again he gave a shout of surprise and worry, he could see Alistair and the two Elven Wardens below fighting against a horde of Darkspawn, and losing.

"Alistair!"

* * *

Meanwhile, at the same time as the battle below….

"We need to get down there and help them," Alistair said as he spun on his heel and headed toward the tower door. They had watched in horror as the army was slaughtered by the Darkspawn. Alistair was still in shock that Loghain, _the_ Loghain who helped the pervious king Maric to free Ferelden from the Orlesians, would turn his back on everyone. They hadn't been able to tell from this high if Duncan or even Cailan were alive or dead at this point but Alistair felt they had to try!

"Let's go then," Raziel agreed as he raced toward the door to leave. They never got the chance to, the door busted open and a flood of Darkspawn filled the room. A shower of arrows rained down on them, Raziel fell quickly as several arrows pierced his shoulder and side. Atreyu gasped in pain as an arrow landed deep in his shoulder, he had been behind Raziel and the younger Elf had taken most of the attack.

His shoulder screaming in pain, Atreyu quickly moved to stand over Raziel who had already lost consciousness and was losing blood fast, and cast a barrier spell around the both of them. He didn't think it would do much good as the Darkspawn were set on over powering them and Atreyu felt an icy ball of fear and dread settle in his stomach. He cast a quick glance around the room, the remaining guard and the other circle mage that had been with them laid slain on the floor. Alistair, like himself, had survived the initial attack and was fighting back against the Darkspawn. But there was too many of them and Atreyu could feel his mana flagging as they were overwhelmed. Falkor, Atreyu's ever faithful wolf and friend, whom he had just reunited with the day before, stood loyally by Atreyu's side teeth bared. Atreyu couldn't help but send a prayer to the gods for help.

And help someone did! Atreyu yelped as the whole top of the tower seem to explode and a large dragon landed on the exposed floor. For a moment Atreyu had thought the Archdemon had arrived but quickly realized that the dragon was attacking the _Darkspawn_ and not them. Another look at the dragon and Atreyu suddenly realized who it and what the dragon was and was surprised they had come to their recue. The Mage was even further surprised to see Cailan within the dragon's mouth, calling Alistair's name loudly. Atreyu glanced to the side again, Alistair was down either from the Darkspawns' attack or the dragons.

Soon the tower was clear enough of Darkspawn that the dragon wrapped its front claws around Alistair then gave Atreyu a look that said 'move' which he quickly did allowing the dragon to pick Raziel up in its other claw.

"Do you know what is going on?" Cailan asked Atreyu. Atreyu gave a weary sigh and climbed up on the dragon's back as it lowered itself low enough for Atreyu to do so, pulling Falkor up with him and holding the wolf close to his body.

"Don't worry your majesty, this is a friend," Atreyu said as the dragon took off into the air and flew into the Wilds. "Sorta…" he added to himself.

* * *

Flemeth silently and quickly flew through the air toward the hut she shared with Morrigan. Oh how amused she was by the whole thing, not only had she saved the trio of Wardens, but the king as well! She would admit, if only to herself, that she hadn't seen the king surviving yet somehow he had. As he ran through the bloodied field of battle trying to escape, Flemeth took it upon herself to save the man.

_'Is it fate or is it chance?'_ She mused to herself. _'I can never decide.'_ Flemeth wasn't sure what it was that made her go ahead and save Cailan as well, better perhaps to leave him to his fate of dying at the hands of a Darkspawn. But no, she has saved him just like she saved the three Grey Wardens. Maybe she had done so in remembered fondness of the man's father. Maric had been entertaining when the Dalish had brought him and the other boy Loghain to her that faithful night so many years ago. And such manners! Not like the Loghain boy, not at all. She had been amused by the then prince and the man had kept his promise he made to her. Maybe that was why she decided to go ahead and save his oldest son as well as his youngest. Or maybe she just decided on a whim! Who knew really?

Flemeth flew down and landed gently on the ground in front of her hut, dropping Cailan on the ground who let out a whoosh of air as he landed. Once she felt Atreyu and his pet wolf slid off his back, Flemeth let go of Alistair and Raziel.

"Well no time," Flemeth said as she shifted back into her old woman form. "Come on then, help me move him inside."

"Flemeth," Atreyu said with a sigh.

"No time, no time," Flemeth said with a wave of her hand. "You want to save your little Dalish friend do you not? Then you will lend your magic."

"I can't cast a healing spell all that well," Atreyu said.

"Bah, you will learn quickly, you always have," Flemeth said. Morrigan held open the door as Calian, the only one not seriously hurt, carried Raziel in and laid him on the bed.

"Wait, what about Alistair?" he asked. Morrigan was pulling the arrow out of Atreyu's shoulder then helping him pull down his robes so she could bandage his shoulder, shoving healing potions and lyruim potions down his throat.

"The boy is fine, merely a nasty bump on the head," Flemeth said with a dismissive wave of her hand. "Assist me in getting the armor off the boy." The arrows were pulled quickly from Raziel's body and his Dalish armor and underclothing pulled off his body. Atreyu gasped softly at the damage done to Raziel's body, how much abuse would the innocent Elven boy end up taking. "None of that," Flemeth snapped at him. "Watch me and learn the spell."

They worked on healing Raziel, Atreyu learning the healing spell from Flemeth, an Elven healing spell one he could use and use it well for once. Cailan had returned outside and dragged Alistair in, the younger man had a nasty bump on his head but as Flemeth had suggested, and no other serious injuries. At some point Flemeth had snapped at Morrigan to give Cailan a purging potion.

"What is this?" He asked as the dark red, almost black, potion was given to him.

"Tis a purging potion," Morrigan said. "If you have any Darkspawn taint within you, this will purge it from your body before it had a chance to take root." She gave a pointed look at the wound on Cailan's cheek as she said this and Cailan remembered the arrow had had saved his life had passed through the Ogre Darkspawn before cutting his cheek wide open. He remembered how bad Raziel had been when he came to the camp and had seen a couple of men from his army that had been tainted by Darkspawn blood. Knocking the potion back, Cailan gagged at the taste. The potion worked quickly and Cailan soon slapped a hand over his mouth and ran outside to be sick as the potion did as it was designed to and purged all the taint out of his body. He was lucky that he was still in the first couple of hours of becoming tainted otherwise the potion would have not worked.

* * *

"Ah! That hurts!" Cailan yelled as Morrigan pulled on the bandages around his chest. His ribs were bruised from the Ogre nearly squeezing him to death.

"You will live," Morrigan said as she tied off the wrap after making sure it was tight. Atreyu chuckled from where he was leaning back in Flemeth's rocking chair watching. It had taken all night to heal Raziel of his injuries, it had been touch and go there for a while as Raziel had lost a lot of blood. Luck had been on the Dalish youth's side though, the Darkspawn's arrows had missed all of his major organs and Flemeth was more than powerful enough to heal the worse damage. Atreyu had helped of course, he wasn't sure where she learned it but Flemeth had taught him the Elven version of the healing spell. His magic had responded much better to the spell than it did to the simple healing spell he already knew. While he was still far away from being on the level as a Spirit Healer or a Shaman, Atreyu could at least be more useful in the healing department now.

It was early dawn now and Raziel was healing from their ordeal. It would be a little while longer before he woke, magic wasn't an instant cure after all and it needed time to fully fix the damage. Cailan grumbled as he pulled his under tunic back on but not his breastplate.

"So now what do we do?" Atreyu asked. Cailan gave Atreyu a weary look as if he did not understand the question at first, the man looked horrible. He had bags under his eyes, the cuts on his face were healing but would leave scars behind, and he looked numb to the world as everything that had happened crashed down on him. Duncan and the other Grey Wardens dead, his army destroyed, Loghain's betrayal, Alistair was still knocked out… it was almost too much.

"I would suppose we head back up north to Denerim, to my castle to regroup what we can," He said at last then noticed the frown on Atreyu's face. "You don't agree?"

"It's not that I want to contradict you your majesty," Atreyu started to say.

"Just call me Cailan," the young king said with a sigh. Atreyu shrugged his shoulders.

"Cailan then," He agreed, "but are you sure that's safe? Loghain had to known that without his forces the Darkspawn would have won the battle for sure. As far as he is concerned you are dead right now." Cailan frowned slightly but he would admit the thought had crossed his mind as well. The attack had been Loghain's plan to start with, the man wasn't stupid, and Loghain had helped plan some pretty impossible seeming attacks while helping his father retake the Ferelden throne.

Cailan dreaded to think that Loghain had planned his death and the death of his army. Loghain _had_ insisted a few times he should return to the castle and not fight in the battles but Cailan had refused each time. _Had_ Loghain plan this the whole time? Planed on his death? Was the man who had been so loyal to his father planning on taking the throne for himself? What of his wife Anora, was she in on this as well? He didn't like to think that she was but neither had he thought Loghain would betray him like this.

"You may have a point," Cailan said with a sigh. "Alright, what do you suggest then?"

"I really can't suggest much of anything," Atreyu said. "If Loghain had wanted you dead from the start, if he finds out you are alive he might attempt to have you killed. All I can suggest for now is sticking together, disguise yourself so you can hear what is being said by everyone as I'm sure in a few days the news of what happened at Ostagar would have spread."

"That is a good idea," Cailan agreed stroking his chin. Morrigan leaned against the wall as she listened closely, Flemeth had hinted things were going to change for her, her role in the scheme of things would soon be upon her. She was not ready for it, she may never be in fact.

The door to the hut slammed open and Alistair stood in the doorway a hand pressed up against his head.

"Ow," He said as the bright sunlight shone into his eyes, holding up a hand to block it.

"How are you feeling Alistair?" Atreyu asked. Alistair turned to his left and Atreyu could see the relief on the man's face as he looked at the Elf.

"Thank the Maker, you're alive," He said then frowned sadly. "When the Darkspawn came and we couldn't escape…." He trailed off, looking back through the open door way to the bed where Raziel laid. "He's so pale and still."

"The fawn will be alright," Atreyu said. "He just needs a little time to rest."

"Atreyu… everyone is gone," Alistair said with a great wave of sadness.

"Well not everyone," Flemeth said as she stepped out of the house. She waved for Morrigan to go inside to keep a watch on the Dalish boy. Morrigan nodded and slipped quietly inside the hut. "Your king is still alive after all."

"What?" Alistair blinked and turned his head toward Cailan. The man looked relieved for some reason and Alistair for the life of him couldn't figure out why. "King Cailan!"

"Alistair, I am relieved you are awake," Cailan said as he stood up and came to stand near the younger man. Atreyu tilted his head to the side, absently scratching Falkor behind the ears as he looked at them. When they first met Alistair back in the ruins, Atreyu had through Alistair had looked a bit familiar but could never figure out from where. Seeing the two men standing together, their resemblance was startling. They both had the same face and the same body builds. Both of them were blond, though Alistair's hair was a much darker shade of blond, and their eyes were different colors, Cailan's blue while Alistair's was a shade of copper-hazel. They shared too much resemblance to not be related and it might explain Cailan's request and actions toward Alistair. Siblings perhaps? If not, cousins at the least.

"Y-you are?" Alistair asked seeming startled by that. Cailan opened his mouth to say something further then seem to change his mind, squeezing Alistair's arm briefly then sat back down with a weary sigh, cradling his head in his hands. Knowing Alistair was awake and seemed fine lifted a very heavy load off Cailan's mind and allowed all the other problems bearing down on him to rush forth. He thought again of Loghain and what that meant for him. Alistair watched Cailan for a moment, seemingly confused by what just happened, he had spoken to the other man only once in his life and as far as he knew Cailan either didn't know about their relation or just didn't care, then gave his own sigh and sat down near the water in front of Flemeth's hut, staring into the fire there lost in his own depressed thoughts. Duncan, his mentor and father figure, as well as the rest of the Gray Wardens he had made a family out of were dead… he mourned for his comrades and for what had happened at Ostagar.

Flemeth snorted softly to herself, it seemed Atreyu was the only one keeping a straight head on at the moment…. Well at least someone had to. The Dalish Elf would wake soon and the group could get underway on their quest.

* * *

Raziel's honey toned eyes fluttered open as he swam back to consciousness, making a small moaning sound as he sat up. He looked around with bleary eyes; he was in a hut laying on one of the two simple beds in the room. His ears twitched as he heard someone moving in the room with him and turned his head, seeing that human woman Morrigan from before standing in front of a bookcase. She turned her head and smiled slightly.

"Ah, your eyes finally open," She said as she closed the book she had been looking at and placed it back on the shelf then walked toward the bed. "Mother will be pleased as will Atreyu."

"Morrigan?" Raziel asked softly. "What happened? What… what happened to the Darkspawn?"

"You were injured," Morrigan said. Raziel looked down at himself, he was dressed only in his smallclothes he found, and looked to where he remembered the arrows piercing his skin. He couldn't find any evidence of where he had been injured though his side and shoulder was still tender. "And then Mother rescued you. Do you not remember?"

"I remember the Darkspawn charging into the room, and the arrows hitting me," Raziel said then shook his head. "After that, nothing else. Wait, what happened to the rest of the army? To the king? Atreyu and Alistair?"

"The man who was to respond to your signal quit the field," Morrigan said. Raziel nodded, he did remember that, he had attempted twice to kill Loghain because of it but missed both times. "The Darkspawn won your battle. Most of those whom he abandoned were massacred. Your friend, the loud mouth one… he is not taking it well."

"So Duncan and the human king are dead?" Raziel asked in a soft voice. Morrigan shook her head.

"The king yet lives, Mother managed to rescue him as well," Morrigan said. "But no, the other man did not survive." Raziel nodded, he was sad to hear about Duncan and everyone else that had died but he saw for himself the battle had not be going well when Loghain had left with his army. He was relieved to hear Cailan survived at least.

"Ma serannas Morrigan," Raziel said as he swung his legs over the edge of the bed. "I should join them I guess."

"As you like," Morrigan said. "Your armor is on the chest there. Mother is outside with your friends, she wished to see you when you awoke."

"Do you know why?" Raziel said as he walked across the room to his armor. He slid on a pair of leather shorts and a soft deer skin under tunic, it was covered in holes from where the arrows had hit him, still stained with his blood. Holding up his Dalish leather armor, he saw it was not in a much better state though the bloodstains had been scrubbed from its surface.

"Mother did not say," Morrigan said. Raziel nodded again and pulled on the armor, reminding himself to replace it later.

"Ma serannas once again for helping me Morrigan," He said as he found his daggers and bow. He found his quiver as well but it seemed devoid of arrows, he must have lost them when the Darkspawn attacked them.

"I… you are welcome, though Mother and Atreyu did most of the work," Morrigan said unused to anyone thanking her. "I am no healer."

"Still, thank you all the same. I suppose I should go see what your mother wants," Raziel said heading toward the door.

"I will stay," Morrigan said then added in a musing tone, "and make something to eat."

* * *

Raziel stepped out of the house, blinking into the afternoon sunlight. Atreyu quickly stood up and smiled.

"Thank the gods you are awake," He said as he pulled the younger Elf into a hug. Raziel wrapped his arms around his new clan mate, hugging Atreyu just as tightly.

"See? Here is your other fellow Grey Warden," Flemeth said as she turned to Alistair who was looking out over the lake. "You worry too much, young man." Alistair quickly turned at Flemeth's words, relief flooding him as he saw the youngest of the three Wardens safe in Atreyu's arm. Raziel stepped back and turned toward Alistair.

"You…" Alistair said his voice horse with emotions. "You're alive! I thought you were dead for sure."

"Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence in my healing abilities," Atreyu said with a roll of his eyes.

"I'm fine Alistair," Raziel assured him. "I don't even hurt, thanks to lethallin and Flemeth. Were either of you hurt?" He asked looking at both of his friends closely. Alistair seemed fine but the right shoulder of Atreyu's robes was stained in dry blood.

"I was hit in the shoulder but Morrigan bandaged it and had me drink a healing potion," Atreyu assured the other.

"I was unhurt… except maybe a hit on the head," Alistair said as he reached up to touch where the knot had been. "This doesn't seem real. If it weren't for Morrigan's mother, we'd be dead on top of that tower."

"Do not talk about me as if I am not resent, lad," Flemeth said dryly. Cailan quickly joined them, happiness and relief to see the Dalish Elf up and about.

"I am glad to see you are well my young friend," He said. Raziel gave the king a warm smile.

"I am glad to see you as well," he said.

"I-I didn't mean…" Alistair said then trailed off for a moment. "Are you really Flemeth? The Flemeth?"

"She's the only Flemeth I've known," Atreyu said.

"Names are pretty, but useless," Flemeth said. "But I suppose Flemeth will do, it is what the Chasind call me."

"We call her Asha'bellanar," Raziel said. "I did not make the connection until after we left."

"Yes, that is what you Dalish and the Wilders have been known the call me," Flemeth agreed with a slight smirk. Cailan blinked in surprise.

"Wait, are you…" he trailed off, was this the same witch form his father's stories, the one whom he met after he met Loghain? After seeing her transform from a dragon… Cailan was more than willing to believe that yes, this was the very same witch. Flemeth seem to know what Cailan was thinking as she threw him a little smirk. Alistair was muttering under his breath, not believing that this was _the_ Flemeth from lore.

Raziel's head tilted to the side as he looked at Cailan and Alistair standing nearly side by side, like Atreyu he noticed how much the two of them looked alike.

"Are you two related?" He asked looking from one man to the other.

"W-what?" Alistair asked startled not having expected the question.

"Yes," Cailan said calmly with a nod of his head. "Alistair is my younger brother." Alistair turned to look at Cailan in shock his mouth hanging open. Atreyu noticed that while Alistair seemed shocked that Cailan had admitted it, he wasn't shocked at the news that they were related, Alistair had known then.

"You're request makes a lot more sense then," Raziel said with a thoughtful nod. They were clan and clan always looked out for each other.

"W-wait, what request?" Alistair asked looking at the other three.

"King Cailan asked us if we would watch your back while we were in the tower," Raziel said.

"You can just call me Cailan," the king told Raziel.

"What?! Why would you do that?" Alistair asked, there was anger in those eyes but also a great deal of confusion.

"You are my younger brother Alistair," Cailan said looking Alistair straight in the eye, "I wanted to assure someone had your back." Alistair looked ready to tear his hair out, he was confused by this, as far as he knew Cailan didn't know or at least didn't care that they were related.

"Family reunions are nice, but perhaps you should figure out what you are to do now," Flemeth suggested interrupting the moment.

"Flemeth's right, we need a plan of action," Atreyu agreed. "Just what do we do from here?" Cailan sighed and rubbed the back of his neck.

"You are right about one thing Atreyu, if Loghain had planned on my death from the start then walking right back to the castle would give him another chance to kill me," He said. "Loghain is no fool, the plan had been his from the start, if he felt that it wouldn't have worked he wouldn't have pushed for the plan we were to follow. I need to find out more before I confront him and more importantly, we have to do something about the Darkspawn. I believe Duncan when he said that this is a Blight."

"How do we combat this?" Alistair said pushing his thoughts about Cailan to the back of his mind for now, this was much more important. "We have no army, the rest of the Grey Wardens that had been in Ferelden are dead, we are the only three left! We have no way to combat the Archdemon or the army of Darkspawn on our own."

"It has always been the Grey Wardens duty to unite the lands against the Blight," Flemeth commented. "Or did that change when I wasn't looking?"

"My clan's keeper said something about having a treaty with the Wardens," Raziel said.

"The treaties!" Alistair said his hand going to the bag on his hip. Duncan had handed the treaties back to him the day before, the morning before the army had started preparing for the battle. "The Grey Wardens can demand aid from dwarves, elves, mages and other places! They are obligated to help us during a Blight! We could call on help from Arl Eamon as well, he would never stand for this."

"You're right, Uncle Eamon was not at the battle and he would not stand for Loghain's betrayal," Cailan agreed with his brother. "He would still have all of his men. He would help us if we asked."

"What about the rest of the Grey Wardens?" Atreyu asked. "Surely there are more in Orlais."

"Duncan did say he contacted them before the battle but… I do not know how to get in touch with them or if they are even on their way. No, we are on our own in this."

"I may be old, but Dwarves, Elves, mages, this Arl Eamon, and who knows what else…" Flemeth looked at Atreyu as she said this, "this sounds like an army to me."

"So can we do this? Go to Redcliffe and these other places and… build an army?" Alistair asked.

"We don't have a choice, we have to if we want to defeat this Blight," Atreyu said crossing his arms over his chest. "I have one more place to add to that. I suggest we go to my village, it is close to here, closer than Lothering will be. The Wardens don't have any sort of treaty with the Wilder Elves but it would not hurt to ask my Chief for assistance. They would give us supplies if nothing else."

"Would they help? Your people I mean?" Cailan asked, he had no idea what a Wilder Elf was but he was willing to go with the flow.

"Maybe, we've never really interacted much with the outside world other than a handful that is brave and smart enough to keep our people hidden," Atreyu said with a shrug. "We do not want your Chantry to try to do the same to us what they did to our Dalish and City cousins. All we can do is ask, my peoples' Chief is a reasonable and wise man. If he and the Elders say yes, then that is more able fighters for this army."

"Are you sure that's wise?" Alistair asked. "Perhaps we should head onto Lothering, decide where to go from there."

"It will take well over a day to travel to Lothering from here," Atreyu said with a shake of his head. "And it is already afternoon, we have no supplies, no camping gear. My village on the other hand is only an hour or two walk, it would make more sense to start there."

"I agree with Atreyu," Raziel said. Cailan was torn, on the one hand what Atreyu said made sense, this 'Wilder' village was close and they could stock up on supplies and even gain an ally for the battle there. On the other hand he agreed with Alistair, they could head up to Lothering and get some news, maybe head to Redcliffe from there or at least send a message to his uncle. No, he had to think smart, as much as he wanted news, as much as he wanted to storm his castle and run Loghain through with his blade, as much as he wanted to see his mother's younger brother and ask for his help, they were un-prepared to travel at the moment.

"I agree with Atreyu and Raziel, we should go to this village of Atreyu's," he said at last. Alistair sighed softly, he was out numbered here.

"As you wish your majesty," he said. Cailan scowled, out of everyone here Alistair was the last person who should be calling him that.

"You do not have to bow and scrape to me Alistair, you are more than allowed to call me by my name," He said firmly. Alistair flinched slightly, the whole idea that he was on some even level with Cailan, after years of being told he was to never speak to his brother and was made to promise that he would never attempt to take Cailan's birthright, made him feel very awkward.

"It sounds like you have a plan," Flemeth said. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Morrigan exit the hut and head their way. "There is, however, one more thing I can offer you."

"The stew is bubbling, Mother dear," Morrigan said, the sarcasm when she called Flemeth 'mother dear' heard clearly in her voice. "Shall we have four guests this eve or none?" Morrigan would have been quite happy if Atreyu or even the little Dalish Raziel stayed but the idiot templar and the king she did not want anything to do with.

"The Grey Wardens and the King are leaving shortly, girl," Flemeth informed her daughter.

"Oh such a shame-" Morrigan started to say with fake sadness in her voice.

"And you will be joining them," Flemeth interrupted Morrigan.

"What!?" Morrigan yelped in surprise.

"You heard me, girl," Flemeth said. "The last time I looked, you had ears!" She started to laugh with amusement.

"You want Mori to come with us?" Atreyu asked in shock, he remembered Flemeth not letting Morrigan very far out of her sight when they were children.

"Have I no say in this?" Morrigan asked.

"You have been itching to get out of the Wilds for years. Here is your chance," Flemeth said to Morrigan then turned to look at the other four. "As for you Wardens, your majesty, consider this repayment for your lives." Atreyu huffed softly, something was up with this, Flemeth had always had her fingers in something from what he could remember. He glanced at the others for a brief second; Alistair clearly didn't want Morrigan to come with them if the look on his face meant anything, Cailan seemed concerned by the idea and Raziel seemed confused as he was. Looking over at Morrigan, the woman seem conflicted. He sighed softly, he had a feeling they were not getting out of this.

"Very well, if Morrigan agrees then she is welcome to come along," He said at last.

"Not to… look a gift horse in the mouth," Alistair said slowly, "but won't this add to our problems? Out of the Wilds, she's an apostate."

"If you do not wish help from us illegal mages, young man, perhaps I should have left you on that tower," Flemeth said pointedly.

"Point taken," Alistair said dryly.

"Well I for one am happy Lady Morrigan is joining us," Cailan said pleasantly making Alistair huff softly and roll his eyes.

"Mother… this is not how I wanted this," Morrigan said to Flemeth softly. "I am not even ready-"

"You must be ready," Flemeth said firmly. "Alone, these four must unite Ferelden against the Darkspawn. They need you Morrigan. Without you, they will surely fail, and all will perish under the Blight. Even I." Morrigan let out a small sigh, she knew what Flemeth really meant and if she didn't go through with the plan…

"I… understand," Morrigan said at last with another sigh.

"And you, Atreyu? Do you understand? I give you that which I value above all in this world, someone very close to your own heart, your dear childhood friend. I do this because you _must_ succeed," Flemeth said. Atreyu sighed and rubbed his face, he had a feeling this had to do with the warning Flemeth had given them when they retrieved the treaties from her.

"Yes, you old bat, I understand," He said at last.

"Allow me to get my things, if you please," Morrigan said as she turned and walked back into the hut.

As they waited on Morrigan, the two Elves and Alistair helped Cailan back into his gold plated armor.

"Cailan, if you are going to stay hidden from Loghain and his forces, you will have to replace this armor," Atreyu said in a serious tone. "It stands out to much and everyone knows this is the armor of the king of Ferelden."

"Replace it?" Cailan repeated a bit startled by the idea then sighed as he pulled on his gauntlets. "If I must, but only while we are on this quest. When it is time to retake my throne, I must have this armor."

"Where are we going to keep it?" Raziel asked.

"I guess we'll figure that out as we go along," Atreyu said. Morrigan chose that moment to come back out of the hut, her foci staff over her shoulder and a bag of her things in her hand.

"I am at your disposal," She said looking at the other. "I hope you have a plan of action. If not, then I suggest a village north of the Wilds as our first destination."

"We are going to my village first," Atreyu told her. Morrigan's golden eyes brightened.

"Then there we shall go," She said then turned to Flemeth. "Dear, sweet mother, you are so kind to cast me out like this. How fondly I shall remember this moment."

"Well, I always said if you want something done, do it yourself, or hear about it for a decade or two afterwards," Flemeth said with great amusement.

"I just…" Alistair said unable to keep quiet about the situation any longer. "Do you really want to take her along because her mother says so?"

"Alistair, Morrigan is one of my best friends from my childhood, before the Tower," Atreyu said as he picked up his staff. "I am very happy to have her by my side once again. On top of that, we need all the help we can get."

"I guess you're right," Alistair said with a sigh. "The Grey Wardens have always taken allies where they could find them."

"I am so pleased to have your approval," Morrigan said in a sarcastic tone.

"Oh boy, this is going to be a long quest," Atreyu muttered to Raziel who covered his mouth as he laughed softly.

"Farewell, Mother," Morrigan said as she turned to Flemeth once again. "Do not forget the stew on the fire. I would hate to return to a burned down hut."

"Bah," Flemeth spat. "Tis far more likely you will return to see this entire area, along with my hut, swallowed up by the Blight."

"I… all I meant was…" Morrigan started to say.

"Yes, I know," Flemeth said in a far gentler tone. "Do try to have fun, dear." Morrigan nodded once they left with the three Grey Wardens, the King and one snowy white wolf.

* * *

On the way to the large dark looking forest in the distance, on the edge of the swamp, the group encountered a couple of small groups of Darkspawn. Morrigan proved she was very capable with her spells and had even scared the life out of Alistair and Cailan when she shape shifted into a very large spider at one point and took down a Darkspawn. After that Alistair made sure he was as far away from Morrigan as possible, Morrigan didn't mind since she wanted very little to do with the blond Warden.

In between all the fighting, Raziel eagerly peppered Atreyu with questions about his people. The Dalish youth hadn't taken the chance to ask the night before the battle as it seemed too soon to ask after Atreyu had just been reunited with his grandfather only to have to leave the older Elf again. Atreyu laughed as he listened to Raziel and gently placed a hand on the other's shoulder.

"Breathe Fawn so I can answer your questions," he said. Raziel gave him a sheepish look but still looked very eager. "Well… how do I explain this? My ancestors are Elves that had escaped Arlathan before its fall, fled through the Eluvian to the crossroads in between. They used another Eluvian and came out to a land far far away from here, on the other side of the world."

"What is an Eluvian?" Cailan asked curious.

"Magical portal that looks like a mirror. They exist all over the world and are connected together," Atreyu said. "Our people created them a long time ago as a quick way to get around. There is a lot that happened when my people left Arlathan, tell you what Fawn, in the village we have a lore hut that we keep all of our history in. When we get to the village you can visit it and find out our history."

Raziel's honey eyes shone at the offer, a chance to see Elven history for himself! Only the Keepers and their Firsts and Seconds were usually allowed that honor. He eagerly nodded in agreement to the offer.

As they neared the edge of the forest, a very large group of Darkspawn appeared.

"Oh look, more Darkspawn," Atreyu said in a dry tone.

"Yes, they just keep showing up un-invited don't they," Alistair said as he drew his blade. But before any of the group could attack, a rain of arrows showered down on the Darkspawn group from the direction of the forest, taking the blighted creatures by surprise as they went down. Atreyu blinked and turned his full attention to the trees. Raziel gasped as a group of Elves exited the tree line, dressed in similar clothing as Atreyu's grandfather, and many of them with wolves by their sides. In the front of the group stood a tall Elf with snow white hair pulled up in a high ponytail and part of his hair framing his face, a decorated headband around his forehead. He glanced up at Atreyu who had tears in his eyes, looking at the lead Elf in amazement, then took off running. The Elf in question started running as well, sweeping Atreyu up into a hug as he met Atreyu half way.

"Uncle!" Atreyu cried with joy.


	8. Chapter 8

Wilder Wardens

Author: USA Tiger

Disclaimer: The Dragon Age series is the property of BioWare. The LOtR Elven language belongs to J. R. R. Tolkien.

Author Note: Thanks goes out to my beta and head minion Asilyessam who checks behind me for grammar and spelling mistakes and checks that my lore is correct.

Happy New Year everyone! Here's to hoping 2016 will be better for me and everyone else writing wise than 2015 had been.

Chapter 8

Alistair, Cailan, Raziel and Morrigan watched as the Elven man held Atreyu tight, acting as if he were to let go Atreyu would disappear. The two brothers shifted a bit uncomfortably as it was an insanely private moment, while Morrigan smiled just slightly glad to see her dear friend with his family once again. Raziel just grinned, happy for his new clan mate.

"Oh Cub, it really is you," The man said as he finally let Atreyu out of the hug, his hands on Atreyu's shoulders as he looked the teen over. "When Father said he found you near the human ruins we almost didn't believe it, we thought you were dead for so many years."

"I know, Grandfather said," Atreyu said with a sad smile. "What are you doing out here?"

"Looking for you," The man said. "After Father said he found you, scouts were keeping an eye on what was going on. We saw the aftermath of the battle at the ruins and did not know if you had survived or not. We were heading out there to see if we could find you."

"I was saved, as were my friends here, before the Darkspawn could kill us," Atreyu said as he waved his hand at the group he was with. The man blinked and looked at the rest of Atreyu's party as if noticing them for the first time. He smiled slightly and bowed to them as they came closer.

"Andaran atish'an," The Elven man greeted, making Raziel smile at the familiar Elven greeting. "I am Rayek, a hunter for the Wilder Elves and this scamp's uncle." The man, Rayek, smiled and gave Atreyu a one arm hug.

"Greetings friend," Cailan said in a friendly diplomatic tone as he bowed with a smile. "I am King Cailan of Ferelden. These two are Alistair and Raziel of the Grey Wardens and Lady Morrigan of the wilds."

"They're with me," Atreyu assured his uncle. "I'm taking them to the village."

"Really?" Rayek asked. "I will say, it'll be the first time we've had a human king or Grey Wardens within the village."

"I know, we've never had many outsiders come but this is important," Atreyu said softly. Rayek nodded his head and patted Atreyu's shoulder.

"I will trust your judgment then Cub," He said. "This has to do with the Darkspawn then?" When Atreyu nodded Rayek turned back to the rest of the hunting group. "Let's head back to the village. Someone go ahead to tell the chief." One of the leaner Elves in the group nodded and broke away from the group, running into the forest.

Turning back to the others Rayek bowed slightly. "Allow us to escort you then, it's impossible to navigate our woods without a guide so I suggest you don't wonder off as it is easy to get lost."

"My thanks," Cailan said. The group of hunters forming loose ranks around them then escorted the smaller group into the dark looking woods.

* * *

The way through the woods was quiet and almost peaceful. The trees were some of the largest Cailan, Alistair or Raziel had ever seen. It cast everything into shadows yet there was enough light coming through the canopy of leaves that lit up in the area in a warm glow.

Raziel had been pulled up to the front of the group with Atreyu and was chatting happily with the older Elf about the forest. Cailan was looking around curiously. There wasn't much known about the Kocari Wilds. The area itself was almost completely uncharted and no one was brave enough to try and map out the area. That a whole group of Elves no one had ever heard of lived there in peace didn't really surprise him. Alistair was thinking much of the same thing, he fidgeted with a nervous energy though unlike Cailan, he had heard enough horror stories about the Wilds and the people that lived there that he was a little worried about Chasind swooping down on them.

Another thing that worried Alistair was that he had no idea where they were, it was as if he was a bit disoriented.

"What is this forest called?" Cailan asked as he stepped closer to the front of the group.

"This is part of the Brecilian Forest," Atreyu said over his shoulder. "Or at least it runs up into the Brecilian Forest."

"Really?" Cailan said. The Brecilian Forest was a very large forest that took up most of the most eastern part of Ferelden. The forest itself was mostly unexplored and uncharted as well, no one knew who or what lived within the woods except for maybe the Dalish Clans as they were the only ones who moved within it so easily. Gwaren sat along the edge of the other side of the forest, along the coast line, and the only way there was through the Brecilian Passage. Gwaren had a huge lumber industry but only the outmost edges of the forest were ever used.

They soon came across a wide river than had a wooden bridge suspended over it. Standing at both ends of the bridge were guards, more Elves who were dressed in very light armor and held a variety of weapons. They only nodded to Rayek and the hunters as they passed, looking on in curiosity at the humans and Dalish Elf with them. Once they passed the bridge, Atreyu seemed to vibrate with excitement, he was almost home.

It took only a little bit more of walking before they finally reached the village. It was like nothing Alistair, Cailan or Raziel had ever seen. The village was huge, and very high off the ground up within the trees. Large platforms were built around some of the largest trees any of them had ever seen. Long bridges were built connecting the platforms held up by thick woven vines. On the ground were several Elves going about their day, with giggling children running around playing games with yappy wolf cubs by their sides.

Raziel looked around in amazement, he had never seen so many Elves in one places except for maybe the times when all of the clans met very few years so the Keepers could meet and show what history they had found. And he had never seen so many children, his own clan had only a small handful of young Elves and he knew it was the same for most of the Clans.

A woman gave a joyous cry and rushed to meet the group, pulling Atreyu into a hug.

"My heart weeps with joy," The woman said. She was stunning, with long silvery hair and large dark blue eyes. Atreyu hugged the woman back as tightly as he had his uncle, tears in his crystal blue eyes.

"Aunt Zelda," He said in a voice thick with emotion.

"Oh Cub, you have no idea how overjoyed I was to hear that you are alive," The woman Atreyu called Zelda said. She chuckled and cupped his face. "Well you certainly grew into your looks, I see a lot of your father in you but I see so much of my sister as well." Atreyu blushed softly and laughed as he pulled away from the touch.

"I hate to interrupt Zelda, but I should bring Atreyu and his friends up to the chief," Rayek said to his in law. Zelda sighed and nodded.

"Go then," She said.

"So kind of you," Rayek said jokingly then turned. "Come, I am sure our chief is waiting on us." The older Elf led the way up a set of stairs that wound around the tree up to the village. Once on level with the platforms, the village was even more impressive. Homes and places of business were built into the trees around the edges of the platforms. Even more Elves were to be seen, all dressed in a similar way then Raziel blushed softly as he noticed some were dressed in even less. Many of the adult Elves he saw had markings on them, nothing like the Vallaslins that the Dalish had done but an array of markings on faces, arms or other parts of the body.

"Those are like your marks right?" Raziel asked Atreyu softly.

"To mokos," Atreyu said with a nod. Most of the hunters broke off from the group, leaving Rayek to lead them. Cailan looked around in awe, he had never been in the alienage, an area within cities where the Elves were made to live, but he had always heard how bad it was. This though looked like any other village he had seen, except for being up within the trees part, but Elves lived there instead of Humans. Raziel looked around with wide honey toned eyes as well, his heart breaking, this is what his people could have been like if the humans haven't had taken the Dales from them.

All around them Elves stopped what they were doing and whispered to themselves curiously, it was very rare that outsiders were brought into the village. Some, who had traveled outside of the village into Ferelden, recognized the young king and gapped in awe. Some looked curious at Raziel, there had never been a Dalish within the village before though efforts had been made in the past to connect with their wondering cousins with very little success.

Rayek led them to the largest platform in the village. In the middle of the platform was a large fire pit that many Elves were piling wood onto.

"Everyone is quite excited about your return Cub," Rayek said to his nephew. "I wouldn't be surprised if there is much celebration tonight."

"Why so much celebration?" Alistair asked from the back of the group. Rayek grinned as he looked over his shoulder but there was a look of sadness in his eyes.

"My brother Raistlin twas the shaman of our tribe, other than our father of course," He explained. "There for Atreyu is the shamans son, and would have also been a shaman. And the gods willing, Atreyu will still have that chance."

"Shaman?" Raziel asked. "What is that?"

"A healer, and a holy man to a certain extent," Rayek said. "They have a great deal of duties and the chief are the only ones seen more important than they. I never showed that much talent for magic so I was never trained as a shaman, Raistlin on the other hand did."

"Oh, like a Keeper?" Raziel asked.

"Yes, in a similar way to your idea of a Keeper, but shamans do not lead, that is the role of our chief," Rayek said as they stopped outside a large hut. The guard outside the door nodded and held open the hide hanging over the door for them to enter. Inside it was much darker, with only a small fire inside a bit giving the light room. At the head of the room sat a tall Elven man with long dark brown hair. Part of his head was shaven and his hair was swept over one side of his head. Braids and beads decorated the man's hair and his face was painted with a few dark blue lines. The man wore wide leg buckskins with fringes on the outer edges and a top that was draped over the man's chest so only one arm was covered while the other was bare.

Also in the room, other than a couple of guards by the door, were Fen'ithil who smiled at his grandson, and a teenage Elf with long reddish brown hair and large purple eyes. He only wore a pair of leather pants, set low on his hips, and seem to barely be keeping himself from moving as he looked at Atreyu.

"Welcome home Atreyu, son of Raistlin," The older Elf said as he stood and came to greet his guests. He and Atreyu very gently touched foreheads in greeting, a small smile crossing Atreyu's lips.

"Greetings my Chief," He said softly.

"Fen'ithil has told me much of your tale," the man said. "He also said you are set on going with the Grey Wardens."

"Yes, I have joined them," Atreyu confirmed. He stood to the side and looked at the others. "My Chief, may I introduce the King Cailan of Ferelden? And to you King Cailan, this is my tribes' chief Rakka."

"Greetings," Cailan said with a slight bow of his head, deciding quickly to treat the man Rakka the same as he would any royalty from other countries or King Endrin Aeducan of the Dwarves of Orzammar. "I am honored that you have agreed to let us into your lands."

"Elen sila lumen omentilmo," Rakka said with a small head bow of his own. When he saw the slightly confused look on Cailan, and the others, faces he chuckled softly. "It means 'A star shall shine on the hour of our meeting'."

"Oh, forgive my arrogance your grace," Cailan said. "My people know very little of your language. In fact, I will say that sadly, only the Elves that live within my lands are the only ones who know any Elven." Rakka nodded, taking the tactful comment for what it was.

"The rest of my companions are Alistair, a fellow Grey Warden, and Raziel of the Dalish, a Warden as well," Atreyu said. "And Morrigan, the daughter of Asha'bellanar."

"Well met, you are welcome with the village," Rakka said to all of them. "Please sit," Rakka waved at the low cushions that were placed out for all of them around the fire. "This is my son Tanis," the Elven chief introduced the Elven teen within the room.

"Hello," Tanis said with a smile. Beside the teen was a very large grey wolf who sniffed Falkor in greeting. Atreyu grinned at Tanis who returned the grin, the two of them were childhood friends having grown up together.

"Now, what news have you brought Atreyu," Rakka asked as soon as they settled. "Fen'ithil tells me there is a Blight upon us and that is the reason you joined the Grey Wardens."

"Yes my chief," Atreyu said softly. "They have defeated King Cailan's army and the other Grey Wardens at Ostagar."

"Teyrn Loghain, my father's trusted friend and hero during the rebellion, withdrew his forces during the battle," Cailan said a tremor of anger in his voice. "I do not know if his men would have made a difference in the end, the Darkspawn army was much larger than we thought. But he abandoned the field and left my men and myself to die." The betrayal he felt was clear on his face though he tried his best to hide it.

"As it stands now, Alistair, Raziel and myself are the only Grey Wardens left within Ferelden," Atreyu said. "We cannot leave to seek help with the Wardens within the neighboring lands and we do not know how to contact them."

"What is your plan then?" Rakka asked. "This Blight must be combated or all is doomed." Atreyu looked at the others, realizing Alistair was leaving it to him to request help from his people even though he was the senior Warden. Cailan too was quiet; perhaps he thought that since he was not a Grey Warden he shouldn't be the one to ask.

_'Ok, if those two are going to be like that,'_ He thought as he turned back to the Wilder Chief. "The Grey Wardens have treaties with the Circle of Magi, the Durgen'len and with our Dalish cousins that they will aid the Wardens during a Blight. We also plan on asking one of the human nobles for help but we also request help from our people." Atreyu bowed his head slightly. "Flemeth said this Blight will be the worst one yet and we need all the help we can get to fight the Darkspawn. I know we have kept ourselves hidden as much as possible to keep our people safe and the Wilders have no treaty with the Wardens, but we humbly request the aid of the Wilder Elves."

"What you ask Atreyu will take some consideration," Rakka said. "But I and the Elders will discuss your request and will have an answer for you before you leave. I will say no matter what our decision, you and your companions will be given any supplies you need and I'm sure Craft Master Tass will be happy to make sure you are equipped with any weapons or armor you may need."

"Thank you my chief," Atreyu said with a low bow of his head.

"Rest now, you are all my guests within the village," Rakka said to the others then turned back to Atreyu again. "I know your family is eager to properly greet you shaman's son as is my own child I am sure." Atreyu bowed again as did the others.

"Thank you Chief Rakka for your hospitably," Cailan said with a incline of his head as they all stood and left the hut.

"Well that was a bust," Alistair said as they once they were outside.

"I'm asking for something very large here Alistair," Atreyu said. "We've kept ourselves hidden for years for a reason. We've seen how the Elves that live among the humans and how the Dalish are treated. Do you really think we want your Chantry butting in where they are not wanted and telling us how to live our lives? We strive to live freely, to be under the control of no one. Many of the Elves here and all the other villages ancestors were slaves once, if not slaves themselves. Not to Humans, but to Elves."

"What?" Raziel said shocked. "E-elves enslaved other Elves?" Atreyu sighed and nodded his head, pulling Raziel into a hug.

"At one time, yes. Look, there is the Lore Hut there Fawn, go there and let the Lore Keeper teach you some of our races' history," He suggested as he pointed out the hut in question to Raziel. The Dalish youth nodded his head, he had to learn the truth now, and quickly walked away toward Lore Hut. Atreyu watched him leave for a moment then turned back to the humans. "Freedom is very important to my race and none will allow themselves to become under the thumb of anyone again. If they join this battle no doubt Ferelden at least will learn there are hidden tribes of Elves, Elves who date back to Arlathan itself and remember everything that made us the Elvhen. We are not like the City Elves or the Dalish Elves. We are still pure bloods, we are still immortals unlike our seth'lin cousins."

"Seth'lin?" Cailan asked.

"Elven for 'Thin Blood'," Atreyu said. "That is what our cousin races are called. We don't know what happened with our people still at Arlathan when the Veil rose, nor do we know what happened when the humans enslaved our cousins in the past, but their blood was changed. My people have kept ourselves safe for thousands of years, can you see why now that this is a huge undertaking we're asking of my people?"

"I…. No I understand," Alistair said. "I didn't mean…"

"Don't worry about Alistair," Atreyu said with a sigh.

"So do you think they will decline to help in the battle?" Cailan asked. Atreyu frowned then shrugged his shoulders.

"I don't know, Chief Rakka is a very wise man, he has lived for a very long time leading our village," He said. "It could be he and the Elders decide that it would be better to stay hidden for protection or they could decide that it's time for us to rejoin the outside world. At least to a certain extent, I'm sure no matter what we're not about to just tell everyone where the villages are."

"I for one will be grateful for any help your people will give us," Cailan said. "And if they decide to let themselves be known, I will do everything in my power to make everyone realize that your people are a sovereign nation just as the Dwarves are."

"Those are pretty big words Cailan," Atreyu said with a slight smile. "Are you sure your Chantry will even allow that? After all the Elves your prophet Andraste freed were given a sovereign nation then it was taken away from them years later. Now look at what's left. Elves either live as second class citizens in your cities or live as outcasts trying to find the history that was taken from them. We also have a difference in opinion in magic, it's practiced freely here."

"How do you keep mages from being posessed by demons of the void? Or blood mages?" Alistair asked. Atreyu sighed and hooked his thumb in the leather band under his robes, pulling it and the amber amulet on it out.

"We learned a long time ago how to protect ourselves from Spirits of the Fade Alistair," He said. "See this writing? These are Elven runes made to protect us, as long as we wear these we are protected from demons and spirits that would attempt to take our bodies, it also protects us from blood magic. As for blood magic itself, that isn't practiced here and if it is, then we take care of it."

"O-oh," Alistair said blinking then leaned forward to get a better look at the amulet.

"I stand by my promise," Cailan said firmly then looked around the village. "You have a very beautiful place here and I can see how well it is put together. We may not believe in the same things but then again not everyone does."

"Well that's a more open minded attitude that I get from most humans," Atreyu said with a chuckle. "I will thank you for that at least."

"Atreyu!" The teenage Elf that the chief had introduced as Tanis rushed forward out of the hut and swept Atreyu into a hug, pulling the slightly shorter Elf off his feet.

"Tanis, I am happy to see you as well but put me down!" Atreyu yelled. Tanis laughed and placed Atreyu back on his feet.

"I knew you weren't dead! And a mage to boot!" Tanis said with a grin.

"You did not know he was a mage?" Cailan asked.

"I didn't show any signs of magic until the day the Templars murdered Ada and I stupidly attempted to heal him, giving myself away to the Templars," Atreyu said. "That was when they decided to take me to your Circle."

"We were very saddened by Shaman Raistlin's death," Tanis said in a serious tone. "He was a great man, one who healed and helped many people no matter if they were Human, Elf or Dwarf. But because he was what you Shemlen call an Apostate, he was murdered." Alistair winced, that was very common practice for the Templars and the Chantry, they believed rouge mages were dangerous.

"Not an uncommon thing," Morrigan said. "Raistlin twas a very kind man, one even Mother greatly respected."

"Where is the little Dalish that was with you? I hoped to meet him," Tanis said as he looked around.

"Raziel went to the Lore Hut," Atreyu explained. Tanis nodded then turned to the others.

"Father sent me to show you where you can stay, the tavern has very nice rooms in it," He said. "Father said you may stay there for free. You can stay in your old home if you like Atreyu."

"Ada's hut is still empty? I would have thought someone else would have moved in," Atreyu said in surprise.

"No one could bear too, out of respect of your father and hopes that you were still alive and may come home one day," Tanis said. "If you want to see it, I can lead your friends to the tavern while Father and the Elders decide on what to do."

"Ma serannas Tanis," Atreyu said with a smile then walked away with Falkor by his side.

"Well shall we?" Tanis said to the other three, leading them to the village's tavern at the edge of one of the larger platforms.

* * *

Raziel blinked letting his eyes adjust as he stepped into the Lore hut. His honey toned eyes widened and his mouth dropped open slightly in surprise as he took the room in. It was large and the walls were covered in Elvish writing. In the middle of the room, hanging over a fire pit that had hot coals burning lowly, was a large crystal that seem to reflect rainbows on the walls when the light hit it just right. There were slits in the top of the hut that let in light from the outside, giving Raziel more than enough light to see.

He eagerly walked over to the wall by the doorway and tried to read it, he only knew a little bit of Elvish, taught to him by Merrill over the years. He could pick out a word here and there but nothing jumped out at him, he just didn't understand what any of it said. Still just being in the hut, being around so much Elven history… it made Raziel's heart thump loudly.

"Welcome da'len," a soft smooth voice said from the head of the hut. Raziel jumped startled and blushed as he turned, he had been so excited he had missed the figure sitting at the head of the room. "Do not be shy, come closer." Raziel did as bidden and walked to the front of the room.

He was surprised by what he saw, the figure was a man who looked so young… yet his eyes looked older than even Atreyu's grandfather. The man had sun kissed skin and long black hair tied into two braids that hung in front of both shoulders and was decorated with beads. The man wore a soft doe skin tunic and pants in a light brown color.

"Ir abelas, I-" Raziel started to say his cheeks flushed in embarrassment.

"Shhh da'len," the man said in that soft voice then smiled kindly and patted the space beside him. "Come, sit by me." Raziel hurried over like an eager puppy, sitting next to the elder Elf. The man very gently gripped Raziel's chin and turned his face up to the light so he could see the vallaslin marks on his face, Raziel was surprised to see a look of sadness in the man's eyes. "I welcome you little Dalish cousin to the Lore hut. I am Lore Keeper Aneirin."

"I'm Raziel Maheriel, hunter… I guess former hunter now, of the Sabrea Dalish clan," Raziel said. "And now one of the Gray Wardens."

"Well met da'len," Aneirin said with that kind smile that Raziel couldn't help but return.

"Hahren, Atreyu said I could learn about the history of the Elvhen, the real history not just what the Dalish have found," Raziel said. "Can you tell me, please?" Aneirin's eyes searched Raziel's eyes, seeing the honest eager desire to learn.

"You may not like what you learn little one," the Lore Keeper said softly. "Are you prepared for that? For things to be different from what the Dalish think they know?"

Raziel paused for just a second, just how different was their people's history? He had a feeling his world was about to be rocked again but his desire and love of history was so strong, he had to know. He left out a slow breath then nodded.

"Yes, please teach me," he said. Aneirin smiled gently.

"Then I shall show you," he said. Raziel wondered what Aneirin meant by 'show him' when the elder Elf lifted a hand, a soft glowing ball of magic in the palm that few to the crystal hanging in the middle of the room. The crystal drew in the magic then flashed in a rainbow of colors that seem to spread out from it. Raziel gasped and jumped up in surprise as everything changed around them, instead of the Lore hut they were standing in a bustling city surrounded by other Elves.

"What is this?" He asked as he reached to touch a decorative statue on the wall, gasping again as his hand passed through it.

"This is nothing but an image Da'len," Aneirin said. "Created by the Memory Crystal. Memories of the past has been fed to the crystal over the years and magic draws the memory out as an echo. What you are seeing is history." (1)

Raziel blinked and looked around in awe, the city was beautiful. With white stone and crystal walkways, towers that reached up to the blue sky above them. Then Elves were dressed in soft looking cloths and were bare footed as they walked, speaking in pure Elven, Raziel only recognizing some of the words.

"Is this… is this Arlathan?" He asked as he turned to face Aneirin again. The elder Elf smiled and nodded. The city seemed to move around them until they were in a court yard filled with all sorts of plants and trees, many of which Raziel had never seen before, and large statues in white and black marbles. "It's beautiful…"

"It was," Aneirin agreed as he looked around with a sad smile as if caught in a memory of his own.

"What about the Creators?" Raziel asked. Aneirin sighed softly as if he knew something painful was coming.

"The ones you called the Creators are known as the Evanuris to our people…. They were not gods thought many claimed so much later in their life," Aneirin said. Raziel's breath caught in his through felling as if he had been punched in the gut.

"N-not gods? What do you mean?" He asked. Aneirin gave him another sad smile and waved his hand again. The scene shifted to a large throne room, Raziel looked around seeing Elven men and women standing around, two of them sitting on thrones. There were eight of them, eight of the nine Creators, or Evanruis as Aneirin had called them. Raziel looked at one of the Elven woman, who could only be his Creator Ghilan'nain, she was beautiful with long hair the same shade as a Halla's fur and pale skinned. She wore a set of Halla horns on a headdress. The elder Elf now stood and moved to Raziel's side.

"They were mages, powerful mages," He said softly. "Once our people were at war and they were generals… they won the war and became beloved by the people. They became our elders then our leaders with Elgar'narn and Mythal ruling over them all."

"There are only eight here, isn't there nine Creators… err Evanuris?" Raziel asked as he counted.

"In time little one," Aneirin said. "Sadly, power can corrupt even the kindest of people and many of the Evanuris began to believe they were more than they were. Only Mythal was able to keep them in check."

Raziel looked at the lovely beautiful woman sitting on one of the thrones, she reminded him of someone but Raziel couldn't put his finger on who.

"They started believe they were gods," Aneirin continued. "Their power was great and many were feared especially by the slaves."

"S-so it's true what Atreyu said?" Raziel turned to Aneirin again. "There were slaves in Arlathan?" Aneirin waved a hand and once again the scene around them changed. They were surrounded by more Elves, but they look down hearted and weren't wearing as fine as clothing as Raziel had seen others. His eyes were drawn to their faces and his heart freeze. Each Elf had markings on their faces, very familiar markings… the vallaslin. The same type of markings that Raziel had on his face, one that honored Ghilan'nain. "Th-they have vallaslins."

"Yes… markings placed on the slaves by the Evanruis. A mark for each of them," Aenirin said softly. "The marks you call vallaslin, they are control glyphs. It allowed the slave managers, called Keepers, to control the slaves. Only Mythal did not mark slaves, she did not approve of the practice. She only marked her loyal priests within her temples." Raziel reached up to touch the sensitive marks on his face, tracing the curved lines gently and felt ashamed… these were no marks of the Creators. The Dalish were wearing slave markings, marks that proclaimed owner ship in the past. The scene changed again to a garden.

It was Mythal with another Elf, a man who hand long brown hair in dreadlocks and wearing leathers instead of the soft looking clothing others wore.

"This, da'len, is the 'dread wolf' Fen'Harel," Aenirin said. "He was a friend of Mythal's and he was a powerful mage, maybe even more powerful then all of the Evanuris put together. He was offered a place among the others as a god but he did not wish to pretend to be something he was not. Fen'Harel was very much against the practice of slavery and often fought with the others in the Evanuris over it. Until at long last the dread wolf declared war on the others with Mythal's blessing. Many other Elves in the city believed as he did and were tired of the cruelty of some of the false gods."

The scene changed again to a deep forest in a valley.

"Elves, many of them slaves, escaped Arlathan to here, taken care of by the people who followed Fen'Harel," Aenirin continued. "They were safe here under the protection of Fen'Harel, many wished to worship him as a god but he often bayed them not to worship him. He removed the slave marks from their faces, freeing them from their shackles."

Raziel watched as Fen'Harel gently removed markings from a young Elf's face.

"Then… Fen'Harel received news that Mythal had been killed," Aenirin said. "Fen'Harel howled in rage and grief, storming the city to confront the rest of the false gods. Many of his followers came with him, it was another bloody war… then Fen'Harel commanded our people to run. To flee as far as possible. So we did… we fled through an Eluvian to the world on the other side."

Raziel watched as the scene changed to many Elves running through a mirror, feeling sick as he looked at the object and was reminded of what happen in the ruins and of Tamlen. He pushed down grief as the memories ended and he was once against standing in the Lore hut.

"We found a mirror that led us to a land far far away from here, one where there had not seen Elves for many years," Aenirin said as he sat down again. "We called it Arlavehnan and with the help of a race that lived there called Centaurs began a new life. Our people grew until we started to branch out making new villages. It evolved to the way we live now and in time others ventured back to this place and this village was established."

Raziel stayed quiet for a few minutes, his head bowed and his hair covering his face. His whole world had been turned upside down, things had been nothing like his people thought. Fen'Harel had helped their ancestors, tried to end the slavery among their kind. The other Creators had forced slavery on their own people except for Mythal who had truly cared for those under her rule. The vallaslin, the markings that the Dalish wore to honor the god or goddess of their choosing, they were slave marks.

"Ma serannas hahren," Raziel said softly to Aenirin. "For sharing this with me. I… I must think about what I learned." And with that the slight Dalish youth ran out of the hut his thoughts crashing around in his mind. Aenirin sighed softly and shook his head, he did not like making the younger Elf so upset but history wasn't always pretty or nice. Sometimes truth could be a royal kick in the arse. But the Lore Keeper thought Raziel would recover from this hard truth, would accept this new history, and move on. Next time the youth came to him, Aenirin would show Raziel some good memories of the Evanuris, that they had not always been horrible monsters anymore than the Dalish believed Fen'Harel to be.

* * *

Atreyu hesitated at the door of the hut, his hand hanging in the just outside the new looking hide covering. He couldn't decide if he wanted to go in or not, see the place that would hold so many memories for him. Falkor whined and pawed his master's leg making Atreyu look down at the wolf.

"I know my friend, I'm just…" Atreyu shook his head and swallowed thickly as he pushed aside the door covering and entered his old home. He stopped short and started around the hut with wide crystal blue eyes. It looked the same, all the same. There were his father's books on a shelf on the wall… little treasures he had found as a child and brought back to his father.

There was a faint musty smell in the air, but the windows were open trying to air the hut out. It looked like someone had recently dusted as well. Atreyu walked across the room to the door that lead to his old bed room. It looked the same as well, some of his old toys were still sitting on the floor, looking worse for wear, and his bed looked to be replaced by something bigger. Atreyu walked in and slowly sat on the edge of the bed, lowering his face to his hands.

"Oh Ada…" he said softly as he rubbed his face. What would his father think about all this? He wondered how different things would have been if those Templars hadn't been there that day, or if he and his father had managed to escape. Falkor placed his head on Atreyu's knee again and whined catching the Elf's attention. Atreyu gave a little chuckle of amusement and lowered his hands, burying them into the wolf's thick white fur. "I shouldn't brood huh?" He asked his pet. Falkor panted and licked Atreyu's face making him laugh.

"No, you shouldn't brood," Atreyu's aunt Zelda said from the doorway. Atreyu looked up at his aunt in surprise, he hadn't even heard her come in. Sometimes he forgotten she was one of the village hunters. "What happened to Raistlin was horrible, that you lost father and your mother Midna at such a young age. But what happened was not your fault Atreyu, nor are the Shems taking you to that tower. You are back with us again, even if it's for a short time. I'm just happy you are alive my little pup."

"I missed you too Aunt Zelda," Atreyu said with a smile. Zelda returned the smile then held out her arms, a bundle of clothing in them.

"Here, once your grandfather told us you were found and likely would be coming home soon, I got you some new clothing. It might have to be adjusted a little bit but I'm sure it will be better than that thing you are wearing," She said looking at the robes Atreyu still wore. Atreyu looked down at his attire and rolled his eyes as he stood up.

"Gods yes, I hate this damn thing," he said. Zelda laughed and left the room so Atreyu could change in peace. When Atreyu exited his old room a few minutes later, he was dressed in a soft leather top that was sleeve-less and hung open to his navel then was tied closed with a belt, his amber amulet and charm with the joining potion inside hanging over his bare chest. He also now wore a pair of soft buck skins that had fringe down the sides and a pair of soft moccasins on his feet. (2)

"Don't you look handsome," Zelda said with a smile. "I did a pretty good job at guessing your size." Atreyu returned the smile and ran a hand over the soft leather of his top.

"Ma serannas Aunt Zelda," He said. "You have no idea how much better I feel just by wearing this. It's like the last shackles of the circle has finally been cast off."

"Oh you poor thing," Zelda said with a shake of her head. "What are you going to do with those?" She asked pointing to the balled up robes and the pair of boots in Atreyu's hands. Atreyu gave a wicked grin as he looked down at his Circle robes.

"Oh… I thought they would be great kindling for the central fire," he said. Zelda laughed, her long fingers pressed over her lips, and Atreyu quickly joined her in laughter. Falkor panted and barked, his tail thumping against the floor.

* * *

Alistair leaned against the railing of the balcony that ran across the back of the tavern/inn and looked out into the forest. His mind was swirling with so many things right now, he didn't know even where to start. The death of Duncan and the other Gray Wardens, Loghain quitting the field and leaving everyone to their deaths, that _the Flemeth_ was a real person, there was a whole race of Elves that nobody knew about and he was in their village and let's not forget the kicker, that Calian not only knew that Alistair was his half brother but admitted it! Alistair could feel a headache coming on as he reached up to rub his forehead.

"Alistair?" Alistair sighed as he heard Calian's voice behind him. "Are you alright brother?"

"Do you have any idea how strange that is to hear you call me that?" Alistair asked softly, turning his head slightly to look at the other blond as Calian leaned against the railing.

"I'm sorry… I didn't mean to upset you," Cailan said.

"No… no… it's just…. Why now?" Alistair asked as he turned to face the other man. "Why after all these years? I had no idea you even knew I was your bastard of a brother." Cailan sighed softly, his hands tightly gripping rail.

"I've always known, almost since the day Father knew about you," he explained then gave a hallowed sounding laugh. "Do you have any idea how excited I was to learn about you? I had a little brother, I could finally be an older sibling like those kids I seen outside the palace. I had given up any hope have having a brother or even a sister after Mother passed away. Then Father was so sick afterward I thought for the longest time he would die as well.

"Then he went off on that… whatever it was he did with some Gray Wardens and when he came back he seemed to be getting better. Then months later one morning I ran into his rooms to get away from my nurse and there you were, all swaddled up in my old crib. Father had no choice but to tell me you were my little brother. I got so excited…" Cailan sighed and tilted his head up to the sky. "I started making so many plans, all the things you and I could do when you were older."

"Didn't quite turn out that way did it," Alistair said as he leaned against the rail again.

"No," Cailan agreed. "I was so angry with Father when he said that you weren't staying. I pleaded and begged him, promised I would help watch over you. That I would protect you when he said you weren't safe at the castle. So hurt when he said I could never acknowledge that you were my brother, I didn't speak to him for weeks."

"Why did he send me away to Eamon?" Alistair asked. "I just always assumed I was unwanted being the bastard child of a maid."

"Hardly, why would Father care about a little detail like that? He was a bastard child after all. Father loved you. It hurt him deeply to have to send you off," Cailan said. "He was always receiving letters from Uncle Eamon about you, telling him about you." (3)

"Then why?" Alistair asked with an almost desperate note in his voice. "I was always told never to mention that Maric was my father, that you are my brother. Maker's breath, Eamon and Maric both made me promise I would never try to take the throne from you!"

"He promised that you would live a normal life, one outside of the court. Just to live a normal carefree childhood," Cailan said. "He thought you would have that with Uncle Eamon."

"Fat lot of good that did," Alistair mumbled, thinking of how things changed after Eamon married Isolde, how the woman couldn't stand him. "I was packed up and sent off to the Chantry."

"You have no idea how livid Father was when he heard about that, he and uncle had the biggest fight over it," Cailan said with a shake of his head. "Then he tried to get you back out, promises be damned but the Chantry wouldn't let you go once they had their claws in you. Then he heard about Templar training and he really became angry."

"I was angry too, for the longest time," Alistair said. "Never wanted to be a Templar anyway, so glad Duncan recruited me into the Wardens."

"And thank the Maker he thought of that because I was close to ordering him to do so. But Duncan thought of it first before I could," Cailan said. "Duncan always said you were a fine Warden, he would be relieved that you lived that horrible battle." Alistair's eyes became sad as he looked out into the forest again.

"I miss him," he said.

"As do I," Cailan agreed. "He and Father were very good friends."

"Duncan was friends with Maric?" Alistair asked surprised, turning back to his brother. He just couldn't bring himself to called Maric 'father'. Cailan nodded his head.

"Yes, remember when I said Father traveled with the Grey Wardens? Duncan was one of those Wardens," he explained. Alistair processed all these, putting this new information into place. Then he thought of something else.

"Hey! If you knew I was your brother the whole time, then what was that all about the one time we met before!?" He demanded. "When you were more interested in Eamon's armory than anything else." Alistair was surprised to see Cailan flushed in embarrassment.

"Oh yes… that…. Not one of my finer moments," he said then sighed. "You must understand, I begged Father for years to let you come home or at least to let the two of us know each other. He denied me time and time again, he said it was too dangerous for you and that I might let it slip you are the king's youngest son. Or that you would if we had a close relationship. Finally, at the time you are speaking of, I convinced Father at least you both you and I were old enough to both keep it a secret and I could finally meet you properly."

"Soooo…. What happened?" Alistair asked. Cailan's face flushed red again and he reached up to rub one of the healing scars on his face.

"I…. lost my nerve," he admitted.

"You… lost your nerve," Alistair repeated dryly.

"Yes," Cailan said with a sigh hanging his head. "I had all these different scenarios in my head of how we would meet, all of them that had me coming out as the wonderful big brother of course. But when the time finally came and you spoke…. You were so polite and nothing like I was at your age. Finally faced with you for the first time since you were a baby… I blurted out the first thing I could think of…"

"And that was… swords," Alistair asked crossing his arms over his chest and leaning his hip against the rail. Cailan sighed and ran his hands through his hair.

"Yes, I suppose I thought I was going to ask you if your liked swords, an attempt to find some sort of command interest between the two of us," He said. "I remember Uncle Eamon wrote to Father that you liked to watch the knights practice. After that I realized how much of a fool I just made of myself and quickly left the room. During the rest of that trip I tried to approach you again but you always left the room if I entered."

"Or I hid if I heard you coming," Alistair said with a sigh of his own, his shoulders slumping.

"After we left, Father wouldn't let me try again and I could never leave the castle without being under close watch," Cailan continued. "Then you were sent to the Chantry then Father disappeared and I was crowned king… Duncan recruited you into the Wardens…. There was just never any time."

"That…. makes feel a bit better knowing you tried at least and I wasn't completely unwanted," Alistair said. Cailan placed his hands on the younger man shoulders.

"I am sorry how things turned out little brother," he said. "I was hoping… that maybe now we can be the brothers we should have always been. If you allow me of course." Alistair studied Cailan's face and saw nothing but how sincere the older blond was.

"I'll try," Alistair said. "But it's going to be slow going, I'm used to thinking of you as my king, not my brother."

"I can understand that," Cailan said as he dropped his hands. "All I can ask is for us both to try." Alistair nodded and leaned against the railing once again.

"Do you really think he's dead? Maric I mean," He asked after a few minutes.

"I have no idea," Cailan said. "I hope deep in my heart that Father is still alive out there somewhere… but no one could find his ship, not even Loghain. Of course with what just happened with Loghain, I'm not sure how much I trust him in that. But Father was acting very strange before he left… he kept speaking to himself when he thought he was alone… something about a vow he made and how he needed to leave."

"Any idea what it was about?" Alistair asked. Cailan shook his head.

"None, Father never spoke of it to anyone, not even Loghain, about what it was," He said. "Loghain was quite cross about it though, I think it had something to do with when they were young. I overheard them once, before Father left. Loghain told Father 'He should know better than to listen to that mad old woman'. "

"Old woman?" Alistair said.

"I am unsure…. But I believe he meant Flemeth," Cailan said. At Alistair's startled look he quickly added, "it's part of the old story Mother Ailis use to tell me, during the war after our grandmother was killed. Father and Loghain met an old woman when within the Wilds, but her name is never mentioned."

"And you think it's Flemeth," Alistair said.

"She matches the story, and the name young Raziel called her, it 'twas the same name the Dalish clan with in the Wilds called her," Cailan said with a nod.

"Huh…." Alistair grunted. Silence passed between the two brothers a few moments more before Alistair spoke again. "She gave me the creeps."

"I as well," Cailan agreed.

* * *

(1) This is a shaperate crystal like the dwarves use.

(2) Heavily based off Atreyu's name sake from the Never Ending Story movie, the first one.

(3) I'm not sure if this is strickly true but there is no mention what so ever that Moira Theirin was married to Maric's father or even who is father is.


	9. Chapter 9

Wilder Wardens

Author: USA Tiger

Disclaimer: The Dragon Age series is the property of BioWare. The LOtR Elven language belongs to J. R. R. Tolkien.

Author Note: Thanks goes out to my beta and head minion Asilyessam who checks behind me for grammar and spelling mistakes and checks that my lore is correct.

Chapter 9

Raziel wondered the Wilder's village in a daze, what he had seen in the memories had completely shocked him. There hadn't even been any hint in all the history the Dalish found that things had been that way. What would Marethari or the other Keepers think if he was to try and tell them? He supposed it would depend on the Keeper. His own would want to see the memories for herself at least, but he couldn't say what the rest of the Keepers would do.

Finding a secluded spot to sit and think, Raziel sat down and drew his knees up to his chest and rested his chin on top of them. He wasn't sure what to do now, learning that the Creators weren't gods but powerful Elven Mages whose power went to their heads was shocking as was learning that slaves had been kept in Arlathan. That vallaslins, something Raziel had been so proud to get when he completed his apprenticeship, was nothing but a slave mark at one time and that at one time 'Keepers' were something else completely… made him a little sick to his stomach. He sighed deeply and buried his face into his knees, he felt ashamed now….

Raziel blinked as he heard something growl and felt tugging on his boot. Lifting his head, he looked down and a slow smile spread over his face as he saw the tiny black wolf pup tugging at his boot growling playfully.

"Oh, you are so cute," he said as he picked up the pup and sat it in his lap. Animals always made him feel better. The pup yipped and leaned its head back, licking Raziel under the chin causing Raziel to laugh. More yips and the sounds of tiny paws thumping on wood filled the air as more wolf pups came thundering over. Raziel soon found himself surrounded by furry little bodies of black, gray and brown making him smile even wider.

He quickly noticed that the wolf pup in his lap, who was mock fighting with one of its siblings over his knee, was much smaller than the rest of the litter making it a runt. The mother wolf walked over and nosed each of her pups, checking on them then sniffed Raziel. After a second or two she seem to decided that Raziel was no threat and laid down close by, watching the Dalish youth and her litter. Raziel smiled as he passed the Momma wolf's test and scratched the runt pup's sides and back.

"Ah, that's where they got to," a girl's voice said from above Raziel. Raziel blinked and tiled his head back, an Elven girl around his age was balancing on a tree limb above his head, the girl's skin was sun kissed and hair a fiery shade of red and eyes a bright, vibrant green that reminded Raziel of a summer's leaf.

"Oh… um… andaran atish'an," Raziel said. "I… umm… would get up but I…" he waved his hands at the gathering of wolf pups around him.

"Saesa omentien lle," the girl said then giggled. "Yeah, I see you made a lot of new friends." She dropped off the tree limb and landed lightly on her bare feet next to Raziel. One of the pups thought her toes looked interesting and started sniffing them. "Silly thing. My name is Somara. You are the Dalish everyone is talking about yes?"

"Everyone… is talking about me?" Raziel asked softly his ears drooping a bit and a flush appearing on his cheeks and the bridge of his nose.

"Oh nothing bad," Somara assured him. "We just never had a Dalish Elf in the village before, a few city born Elves that the hunters found wondering the forests and offered them a home, but never a Dalish. It's kinda exciting."

"I'm not all that exciting," Raziel said as he rubbed the back of his neck. "And… well we must seem like da'lens to you." Somara tiled her head to the side slightly in curiosity.

"Why would you say that?" she asked.

"Well… we… I mean the Dalish in general, have tried so hard to reclaim our people's history. We thought _we_ were the true keepers and finders of our kinds past… and now I find everything we thought we knew was all wrong. The Creators… our gods…" Raziel reached up to touch the marks on his face. "They weren't gods at all… they… they kept slaves… and…" His ears drooped and he sighed sadly. The tiny black wolf pup whined and nuzzled the Elf, licking his chin and neck.

"Well I'm sure the Dalish didn't get _everything_ wrong," Somara tried to comfort him. "Awww don't be so sad. Okay so the Evanuris weren't really gods, but they were and are still respected… some more than others."

"But they kept slaves," Raziel said frowning as he looked up. "Their own people! The Dalish… we always thought it was just the humans but it wasn't… it was our own people."

"Well even we Elves have both good and bad people," Somara said. "And sometimes power can go to a person's head… it doesn't make them right but some of the Evanuris tried to make it good for their 'slave's'. Mythal called her's priests and guardians… but they were really slaves. And well… you have the mark of Ghilan'nain right?"

"Well… yeah…" Raziel said as he reached up again to trace the looping lines on his forehead. "She… she was the goddess I felt closest too. She was the mother of the Halla and other creatures… and I love animals." He petted the wolf pup in his lap.

"Well then it should make you feel better to know Ghilan'nain treated her slaves like friends. She put her mark on them to keep them protected from some of the other Evanuris," Somara said. "She really was as kind as you thought she was. Don't feel bad, you should be proud that you feel close to her. She might not be a goddess, but she can be the Elder that you look up the most. Some of us do that, they really were respected members of the Elven kingdom even if in time some of the Evanuris let the power go to their heads."

"It does make me feel better that Ghilan'nain was a good person," Raziel said in a soft thoughtful tone. Somara smiled happily filled with joy now that the sadness was leaving the other Elf's honey toned eyes. But there was still some lingering sadness there and weariness. Somara sat down, crossing her legs, and leaning forward.

"What else is wrong?" She asked. "You seem so tired lethallin." Raziel smiled at the word, it was good to hear someone call him lethallin again. Atreyu did of course, but it was still good to hear it from other Elves.

"I miss my clan," he said sighing. The wolf pup was playfully gnawing at Raziel's long fingers making the youth smile a bit as he ran them through the baby soft fur. "I miss my friends… I miss…." He took a deep breath and closed his eyes. "I miss Tamlen, I miss him so much."

"What about your family?" Somara asked. Raziel shrugged his shoulders slightly.

"I don't have any, my clan was my family," he said. "My father, he was the Keeper of our clan when he was alive, was killed by bandits. And my mother… she left after I was born to die as well. I have no siblings, I was raised by one of the women of the clan. A widow who had no children of her own, Ashelle. She was a lot like my mother but at the same time she wasn't. I'm… not suppose to know about what happen to my mother and father. The elders always kept it from me, so I wouldn't have hatred in my heart for Shemlen I guess, but I overheard them one night talking about it."

"Ir abelas, lethallin," Somara said. "I'm an orphan as well. My Momma and Papa were killed during a hunt when I was very young by werewolves, they are very vicious down here even more so than the ones up north. I was raised by all the women here in the tribe afterward."

"Oh I sorry too… at least you had them for a while," Raziel said. Somara smiled sadly and nodded.

"Yeah… so who's Tamlen?" she asked.

"Tamlen is… was… my best friend," Raziel said. "He… we've been close since we were so little, we were always together…"

"Ohhhh… so he was your lifemate?" Somara asked as she picked up on the longing in Raziel's voice. Raziel blushed slightly and petted the pup between the ears.

"I… wanted him to be. We wanted to bond very much," he admitted softly. "But we wouldn't be allowed to since we are both men."

"Why ever not?" Somara asked bewildered.

"It's not allowed within the Dalish clans," Raziel explained. "Two people cannot bond if they are the same sex as there will be no children from the union. Children are very important to the Dalish, they are the ones who carry on the traditions, as wrong as they are. Tamlen and I couldn't even show each other affection, not in the way of lovers, unless we knew for sure we were alone. Only time we felt safe was at night in our aravel that we shared, during the day we had to act like we were friends only."

"Oh that is just silly," Somara said. "Love is love. There are many bonded couples here in this and the other villages who are of the same sex. There are even bondings that have three people within it."

"Really? So… no one would have stopped Tamlen and I from marrying?" Raziel asked his ears perking up then drooping again when Somara nodded. "I guess that doesn't matter anymore." Somara's ears drooped as well, Raziel sounded so sad. She scooted over so she was sitting right next to him, putting a couple of wolf pups in her lap, and wrapped her arm around his shoulders.

"Tell me what happened, lethallin," she said.

"Tamlen and I, we were hunting for the clan when we came across these three Shemlen. They were scared, they had found a cave with ruins inside and something inside had frightened them," Raziel said. "They found an old stone inside, gave it to Tamlen and I." He pulled the stone out of his pouch and handed it to Somara.

"Oh, it's Elvish," She said. "Hmm, very worn though, but I can make out some words." Raziel nodded his head.

"Atreyu told me what it said when I showed it to him," He said taking the stone back when she held it out to him. "So Tamlen decided he wanted to see the ruins after we let the Shems go, and I agreed. It looked like it was built by humans but there were statues to the Creators inside. Oh, I mean the Evan… evan…"

"Evanuris," Somara said. "You can keep calling them Creators if you like, if it's easier."

"Well we found statues of them, but I felt so uneasy about the ruins," Raziel continued. "Tamlen started to get uneasy as well the further in we got. We had to fight giant spiders and the walking dead. Then we got to the last chamber where we were attacked by a strange bear. Knowing what I know now, I guess it was corrupted by the Blight. I killed the bear after it knocked over Tamlen and tried to kill him."

"What happen then?" Somara asked her green eyes wide. Even the wolf pups were quiet; all of them looking up at Raziel as if they could understand his story.

"That's when we found that mirror thing," Raziel's ears flatten against his head and he hunched in on himself. "That Eluvian, it was beautiful and horrible at the same time. Tamlen was drawn to it, I tried many times to get him to leave but… but he couldn't stop himself and touched the glass. I don't know much more after that, I passed out from the pain. I did manage to drag myself out of the ruins at some point that is where Duncan found me. He was a Gray Warden and ended up recruiting me, he said joining the Wardens was the only way to cure my taint."

"What happen to your lifemate?" Somara asked. Raziel sighed, honey eyes closed in pain.

"I don't know, Duncan said that the Darkspawn might have taken him and that he's likely dead," he whispered. "Atreyu said he might have fallen on the other side of the Eluvian, but Duncan destroyed the mirror so if he did, then there is no way to save him. Either way, I lost him."

"Ohhh, don't give up hope Raziel," Somara said hugging the other Elf, it was like a kick in the gut to see the dark hair youth so sad. Like looking at a kicked kitten! Or puppy. "There are many Eluvians, maybe he found a way out. He could still be alive."

"But he's tainted like I was," Raziel said with a sniff as he reached up to rub the tears that had gathered in his eyes away. "I don't know where he might be."

"Well…. Just don't give up. Not until you are 100 percent sure he is gone," Somara said. "Maybe… maybe I can try to track him. If he fell through the Eluvian that is. We have one here next to the village, we use it to get to another Eluvian up north to hunt in the forests. Both lead to a pocket world between this world and the Fade. Maybe me and some other hunters can look to see if anyone was there."

"R-really?" Raziel asked his ears perking up and looking up at Somara hopefully. Somara nodded and tried to give him a comforting grin.

"We'll need to check on the other Eluvians anyway if there were Darkspawn in there, we can look for your vhenan at the same time," she said. Raziel hugged Somara tightly.

"I don't know if you'll find anything but thank you, you have given me more hope than anyone else did," he whispered. Somara laughed and hugged him back.

"You are welcome cousin," she said then sat back again. "So, you are a Gray Warden then? You and Atreyu according to what I'm hearing around the village?"

"Yeah, it was the only way to cure the taint like I said," Raziel said with a small shrug. "I can't say it's been all that great so far and now we have to stop the Blight on our own since most of Cailan's army and other Wardens were killed."

"How are you going to do that?" the red headed Elf asked.

"The Wardens have treaties with the Mages, Dwarfs and the Dalish," Raziel explained. "We're also going to ask for help from Cailan and Alistair's uncle, I think he's Alistair's uncle anyway, and Atreyu asked your leader for help too."

"Well I for one will help fight," Somara said. "Ferelden is my home as well, I will not see it fall to the Darkspawn. I heard a little bit about the battle at the human ruins, I didn't know it was that bad."

"There were too many Darkspawn, we were even ambushed at the top of the tower," Raziel said. "We would have died if Asha'bellanar hadn't saved us. In fact I think I did nearly die." He gestured to his damaged and tattered Dalish armor.

"Oh my!" Somara said with a gasp, her hand pressed to her mouth. "You can't go fighting in that!"

"I know, I need to get it replaced," Raziel agreed. "I guess I can get some armor in Lothering."

"No, you can get armor here in the village," Somara said as she shooed the pups out of her lap and stood. "We'll go visit Master Tass, he's the blacksmith and craft master. No one's armor and weapons are better than his." She grabbed Raziel's hands, once he had put the little runt of a pup back on the ground, and pulled him up. The wolf pup whined and pawed at Raziel's foot.

"I'm sorry my little friend, but I can't play anymore," Raziel said kneeling down and petting it. "You should go back to your Momma now. Maybe I will see you again before we leave the village." The pup whined again and licked Raziel's hand, sitting on his little hunches as he watched Raziel and Somara walk away. He gave another pitiful whine and looked up at his mother as she licked the top of his head. The she-wolf had a look of amusement in her eyes as she gave a huff sound and looked pointedly in the direction of the Elves went. Giving a happy little yip, the pup was on this feet and following after Raziel as fast as his little legs could carry him.

* * *

"Hey have you seen..." Alistair started to ask one of the Elves by the large bon fire that had been started up since they came to the village only to blink in surprise as the Elf turned to face him. "Atreyu?"

"Was there any doubt?" Atreyu asked with a laugh, tossing the circle mage robe he was been carrying into the fire, the flames eagerly destroying it.

"You look… very different now… but I believe it better suits you," Cailan said. Gone were the dress-like robes Atreyu had been wearing before replaced by the soft look doe skin leathers the rest of his people wore. The teen's long silver hair was now decorated with beads and feathers, the young man looked wild and fierce now.

"Errr… yes," Alistair agreed quickly. "It was just a… surprise."

"You didn't think I was going to keep wearing those horrible robes did you?" Atreyu asked in amusement. "I see you two are getting along better."

"Cailan and I… we've talked out a few things from our pasts," Alistair said. "Perhaps if things had played out differently I would have seen him in a better light but I'm willing to try to get to know my brother now… as strange as the idea is."

"So, if you two had the same father that would make you a prince wouldn't it?" Atreyu asked.

"Maker's breath, no!" Alistair said in a panic shaking his head and waving his hands in front of him.

"Well actually," Cailan said. "You _are_ a prince, you are the son of a king after all."

"Nope, not a prince," Alistair stubbornly repeated. Atreyu laughed softly.

"Alistair, if I had fallen at Ostagar or, Maker forbid, if something happens to me on this task we are taking on," Cailan said in a serious tone placing his hand on his younger brother's shoulder. "_You_ are my heir as I currently have no children."

"Then I'll just have to make sure nothing happens to you," Alistair said as he crossed his arms. "I do not ever want the throne. Anyway, change of subject!" He turned to Atreyu with a serious look. "What is our next move? After we leave here."

"Ahh, I see we are back to normal," Morrigan said as she joined them. "Finished mopping are we? Falling on your blade seemed like too much trouble, I take it?" Alistair scowled at Morrigan, glaring in her direction.

"Was my being upset that hard to understand?" He asked. "Have you never lost anyone important to you?" Morrigan stiffened just a little and gave Atreyu a quick glance as Alistair said this. "What would you do if your mother died?"

"Before or after I stopped laughing?" Morrigan said with a chuckle, glad that the ex-templar hadn't caught her action to the question. She had lost Atreyu after all, had thought him dead for many years. The Elf had been her only real friend, his father Raistlin had treated her much kinder than her mother ever had. No, she wouldn't miss Flemeth but she had experienced loss.

"Right… creepy that," Alistair said. Atreyu sighed and rubbed his forehead.

"Could you two at least try not to kill each other? Wait until after the whole Blight thing?" He asked. "I'm not asking for a miracle but we do all have to work together."

"Yes yes, fine," Morrigan said as she looked away. Alistair just gave a stiff nod.

"So what is our plan?" Cailan asked trying to break the tension.

"I suppose we should still go to Lothering," Atreyu said rubbing his chin in thought. "To gather any news we can, see just what rumors are going around, that sort of thing. After all, we'll tackle the treaties. We'll ask the Fawn if he knows where we can find one of the Dalish clans. We know where the tower of Magi is and the Dwarves live in the Frostback Mountains."

"And of course we will stop in Redcliffe to speak to uncle Eamon," Cailan said.

"Yes, but I'm not sure about it being our first stop," Atreyu said.

"Why not?" Alistair asked.

"It depends on where the closest Dalish clan is. If we have to look in the forest, it will make more sense to start there. A Blight isn't really on a set time table, we need to gather these allies as quickly as possible," Atreyu pointed out, stabbing his finger into his other hand. "It will take longer to go to Redcliffe then double back to the Brecilian Forest than it would to start there. Now if Raziel tells us the nearest clan is to the far north, then yes it would make more sense to start at Redcliffe."

"Yes, I suppose that would make sense," Cailan said, he wanted to see his uncle now of course. The man needed to know he was alive as no doubt Loghain was spreading the news of Cailan's death. The man might even believe it himself at this point in time. And they would need all the resources his uncle could give them. But he had to think of Ferelden first, of all those under his rule and those he shared his borders with. Alistair also grumbled but agreed to Atreyu's plan.

"But while we're still in the village, we should do something about your armor," Atreyu said giving Cailan's golden plated armor a pointed look. Cailan gave a breathless laugh and touched his hand to his breastplate.

"Yes, you did mention that before? I suppose walking into Lothering wearing the king's armor would make hiding my identity pointless," He said. "So I will assume you have a blacksmith here? Would he or she even have anything I could fit in? Human's are larger that Elves after all."

"Unless something has changed since I was flung into that tower, Tass should still be our craft master," Atreyu said. "He makes armor and weapons for all races, I believe he journeys to Denerim at least once a year to sale his wares, Orzammar and Arlavhenan as well."

"I'm sorry, Arlavhenan?" Alistair asked. He had never heard of 'Arlavhenan', it certainly wasn't on any map the Chantry had.

"Arlavhenan is the land were my people settled after Arlathan's fall," Atreyu said.

"Ah yes, the one on the other side of the world?" Cailan asked. Atreyu chuckled and tugged at the end of his braid.

"Yes… you could say that," he said. "Anyway, Tass is who we should see. He should be able to repair the damage to your armor as well."

"Then let us visit this Master Tass," Cailan said with a grand wave of his hand. "Lead the way my friend."

* * *

"Atreyu!" Raziel said happily as he noticed Atreyu, Cailan, and Alistair walking toward them. Morrigan had decided she wanted no part in browsing weapons and armor, deciding it was a better use of her time to head to the herb stall for potion ingredients.

"Fawn," Atreyu said with a smile as he wrapped an arm around Raziel.

"Wow, you look so different dressed like that," Raziel said. "I like it a lot better on you."

"I do as well," Atreyu agreed then looked at Raziel's face. His younger friend's eyes were still red and puffy. "You've been crying."

"On-only a little," Raziel said embarrassed. "I was… a little upset by what I saw at the lore hut." The dark hair youth sighed and his shoulders slumped. "It was worse than what I thought it would be."

"I am sorry Fawn, I should have warned you," Atreyu said.

"No… I needed to see that," Raziel said with a shake of his head. "I rather know than keep living my life believing the lies we built up over the years."

"Hello clan mate," Somara said stepping up. Atreyu smiled and wrapped his other arm around the girl.

"Somara," he said with a laugh. "You've grown up."

"So have you," Somara said with a grin of her own. "And it has been 10 years, neither of us were going to stay the same at this age."

"No, you're right," Atreyu agreed.

"Soo… another friend of yours?" Alistair asked. Somara ducked out from under Atreyu's arm and startled Alistair as she leaned in close to him, standing on her tip toes for a bit of extra height.

"So you're a Shemlen?" She asked tilting her head. "We've haven't had a Shemlen live in the village for a long time so you're the first one I've met. You're really tall. Are all humans this tall? Are you a Gray Warden like Atreyu? Oh, you're tall too. You two look alike, are you brothers? What happen to your armor, it's all bent up. Why are you both wearing such bulky armor anyway? That armor would be impossible to hunt in, it would make too much nose." She moved from one brother to the other, firing off question after question while Alistair and Cailan looked a little dumbfounded. Atreyu and Raziel held each other up as they laughed.

"Somara, lethallan," Atreyu said between chuckles, "you might want to slow down. I don't think Alistair and Cailan can follow you." Somara blushed and rubbed the back of her head but her green eyes glittered as she managed to get seriousness out of the air and make her clan mates laugh.

"Ohh… right," She said with a laugh of her own. "I still want my questions answered though." Atreyu shook his head and chuckled softly.

"Alistair," he pointed at the dark skin blond, "is a Gray Warden like Raziel and I. Cailan is his older brother and he's the humans' king."

"It is a pleasure to meet you my lady," Cailan said with a bow.

"Oh lady, I like that," Somara joked, grinning up at Atreyu. "I think you should call me that for now on."

"Not a chance," Atreyu said with a shake of his head. "So where were you two heading Fawn?"

"Somara was taking me to your craft master," Raziel said. "My armor was destroyed by the Darkspawn."

"Ah, that is where we're headed as well. Let's be off then before more questions tumbles out of Somara," Atreyu said. Somara playfully stuck her tongue out at Atreyu who grinned at her. Falkor huffed and sneezed, shaking his fur and walk away from them toward one of the shops. "See, even Falkor agrees with me. Let's be off."

* * *

The interior of the weapons and armor shop was cool and bright. Glow stones lined the walls providing plenty of light for the party of 5 to see the rows of weapons stands filled with weapons and the armor stands with different armors lining the walls.

"Master Tass?" Atreyu called out. There was a sound from the back, a slightly gruff voice calling back that he would be a moment. Raziel drifted over to one of the weapon stands that had rows of daggers while Cailan admired some of the swords. Alistair leaned back against the door jam, he had a perfectly good sword and shield as well as armor but he had to admit the craftsmanship of the weapons were very nice.

Everyone looked up at the leather hide covering the door to the back was swept aside and… the person who came out was not what the two humans or Dalish Elf expected. As this was a village full of Elves, what would assume that the craft master and blacksmith would be an Elf as well but...

"You're a Dwarf!" Alistair yelped in surprise only then to notice that it wasn't strictly true.

"Yer only half right," Tasslehoft Dragonriver said with an amused bellow of laughter. "Only half a Dwarf, half an Elf." And Tasslehoft, known simply as Tass to everyone, did indeed look like a cross between a Dwarf and an Elf. Which in itself was unusual as any child from a union of an Elf and Dwarf, the child always looked like a Dwarf. It was the same for the children of Elves and Humans, the elf-blooded child would look fully human.

Yet… yet Tass was clearly the child of Elf and Dwarf. His high was closer to a Dwarf's, taller than a normal Dwarf but still shorter than even a City born or Dalish Elf. He wasn't quite as stocky as a Dwarf but did have muscle mass from long days of swinging a blacksmith hammer. The most telling part of his Elven bloodline were his ears, while not as long or slender as an Elf's, Tass's ears did come to a sharp point and were a few inches long. He also appeared to take after his Elven parent in the fact he did not have facial hair, not even stubble on his strong jaw line and chin nor did he appear to have any body hair either as the flashes of chest that could be seen through his shirt looked smooth and hairless.

His hair was long, not as long as Atreyu's but long enough to be pulled into a topknot on top of his head. Tass's hair was a rich brown color with red highlights and his eyes were a deep brown color.

"But… what… how…" Alistair stumbled over his words in confusion. Tass laughed again and slapped his knee.

"Never seen a half Elf before shem?" He asked. Cailan, who was just as shocked as his younger brother but better at hiding it, has his diplomatic training kick in at that moment and he bowed slightly with one arm crossing over his waist. The three Elves in the room just watched amused though Raziel had been just as surprised as the brothers by Tass's appearance.

"Forgive us Master Tass," the regal blond said. "Just… we were surprised. For us, Elf-blooded children of Human or Dwarves and Elves always tend to appear Human or Dwarf. So to see a Dwarf whom is also clearly Elven blooded is… well shocking." Tass laughed again and slapped Cailan on the back causing the man to stumble a bit, Tass was stronger than he looked.

"Yer a good sort laddie," He said. "There be a reason for my appearance, just perhaps a little unbelievable."Atreyu finally took pity on the others and tried to explain.

"Arlavhenan has Dwarves as well but they are… different… from the Dwarves here," Atreyu said with a small twirl of his fingers.

"Different how?" Alistair asked.

"Well… if a Dwarf from here in Thedas and a Dwarf from Arlavhenan were to stand side by side, then there is no difference there at least looks wise," Atreyu said. "But there are some differences; the Dwarves from Arlavhenan are able to have children with Elves that come out looking like Tass rather that just looking like a full Dwarf. Why? We're not sure to be honest if it's something to do with them or with our bloodlines."

"Arlavhenan Dwarves are also able to use magic," Somara said. "At least some of them are. No lyrium where they are from so they aren't cut off from the Fade."

"Aye, I've got to use special gloves when I work with lyrium," Tass agreed then clapped and rubbed his hands together. "Now, what can I do for you all? Surely yer not here to gawk at the half Dwarf."

"Both Raziel and Cailan need new armor," Atreyu said. "And Cailan's current armor needs repairs."

"Aye, so I see," Tass said as he eyed Cailan's beat up golden armor. "Well come into the back laddie, that's where I keep all the non-Elf sized armors and I can take a look at that set." Then he turned to Raziel and waved a hand. "Look around and see what you like. Everything in here is designed for Elven bodies."

"Ma serannas," Raziel said.

"Come on, there is some really good armor over this way I bet you'd like," Somara said as she dragged Raziel over to some of the armor stands by the far wall. Atreyu started to follow but was stopped by a hand on his arm.

"You too laddie, got something for ya in the back," Tass said as he jerked in his head in the direction of the back room of the shop. Alistair followed as well, curious to see what sort of armors the half Dwarf made.

* * *

"Laddie, you're lucky this isn't solid gold," Tass snorted in disgust as he held up Cailan's breastplate. "This sort of armor is meant for just looks, not serious combat. Whose bone headed idea was it for you to go out fighting Darkspawn in this?" Cailan blushed and rubbed his neck. He was standing in the middle of the workshop wearing only his under tunic and breeches.

"Well… Master Wade made the armor," the blond said.

"Wade is a good blacksmith, for a human, but did he _say_ the armor was for combat?" Tass asked as he lowered the breast plate onto his work table.

"Well… no…" Cailan said with a nervous laugh. "I just assumed it was and it's impressive…"

"Aye, impressive to look at but," Tass shook his head. "I can repair the armor and even re-enforce the insides but that'll take a bit of time and I don't recommend going out to fight Darkspawn or other manner of beasties in this."

"Take your time Tass, we've still got to wander all around Ferelden to fulfill the treaties for the Gray Wardens, that'll take time on foot," Atreyu said. Tass sighed and nodded.

"Alright laddie, I got some armor for humans over here, let's see if any well do for ya," Tass said showing Cailan some of the armor he had in stock. Then he turned to Atreyu, "Yer Granddad came by yesterday after he returned from the forest around all the ruins and had me make this for ya."

From a long chest on the table Tass withdrew a staff and handed it to Atreyu.

"Gods Tass…. It's beautiful," Atreyu said in awe as he took the staff.

"Maker's breath," Alistair agreed. The staff was made out of a rich oak and like Fen'ithil's had a wolf's head carved onto the top. But unlike his grandfather's staff, this staff's wolf head was snarling and Atreyu could see the foci stone past the teeth. The body of the staff had vines and some Elven runes carved into the shaft and at the end of the staff was a wicked looking blade made of iron bark. The middle of the staff had a leather grip to keep it from slipping around in Atreyu's hands.

"This is wonderful," Atreyu said as he moved to the middle of the workroom and spun the staff around, fighting against imaginary foes. "Truly one of your finest works Tass."

"Master Tass, I believe this armor will do," Cailan said from the other side of the room. The armor was made of steel and sturdy looking. The chest plate had a mabari design carved into the chest, which Cailan liked, and a strip of red cloth hanging from the left shoulder. It was a lot more plain looking that his golden armor, which was the whole point, but still had a bit of style to it that made it look heroic. The helmet was mostly open face with a strip of metal coming down over where the nose would be and had a long tassel in the same red color as the cloth on the top.

"It does look good," Alistair agreed as he walked over to peer at the armor as well. "Nothing like before, I doubt anyone would think the king of Ferelden would be wearing this. A knight or a warrior maybe, but not a king."

"Exactly," Cailan agreed happily. Tass came over and rubbed his hairless chin then nodded.

"Good choice laddie," he said. "I'll put in some protection runes, you being king and all you'll be needing that extra protection so you can get back to yer throne."

"Wonderful," Cailan said clapping his hands. "I suppose I should look into a new sword and shield as well. Nothing wrong with mine but all of my weapons and armor were made for me and are pretty distinctive, I wouldn't want anyone to think I 'stole' from the king." He sighed then and his shoulders slumped slightly as he remembered something.

"What's wrong?" Alistair asked.

"I brought Father's sword as well, I had it locked up tight in a chest at Ostagar," He said. "I thought, if the Archdemon showed up, it would be fitting to use on it."

"What's so special about the sword? Other than it being your father's?" Atreyu asked leaning against his new staff.

"Father found it in the Deeproads during the rebellion against Orlais," Cailan explained. "He, Mother, Loghain and I believe Elven woman that had been with them at the time gone there to escape capture. The blade has runes carved into them that are designed to work against the Darkspawn and the Blight, he always said the sword glowed when around Darkspawn or any corruption. King Aeducan gave it to Father as a gift when he attempted to return it to the Dwarves." Tass whistled softly.

"Sounds like a pretty good sword," he said. Cailan nodded in agreement.

"It was, Father left it behind when he left on that ill-fated last trip," he said. "And now my foolish self may have lost it for good."

"If it's made to hurt Darkspawn then they won't be able to touch it," Alistair pointed out. "So it would be where you left it." Cailan perked up a bit at that.

"So we _could_ retrieve it," he said then frowned again. "I gave the key to one of my honour guards Elric for safe keeping."

"You don't have a spare?" Atreyu asked.

"It's hidden at the castle and I do not know Elric's fate," Cailan said. "I hope he survived the battle but… it is possible he did. I suppose retrieving the items from that chest will have to wait until the problem with the Darkspawn has been taken care of."

"I doubt we would be able to return right this moment anyway even if you did have the key with you," Atreyu said. "Ostagar has to be swarming with Darkspawn this soon after the battle."

"Yes, there is that," Cailan agreed. "Will your village truly be safe? You are right in the middle of the Wilds after all."

"There is always danger here in the Wilds. Giants, spiders, werewolves, the list goes on," Atreyu said. "Plus the Veil is a bit thin here so we have problems with demons from time to time and Darkspawn of course, we've survived for hundreds of years here despite that."

"I see, forgive me for my questioning," Cailan said. "I should have realized that of course your people are able to protect themselves."

"Nothing wrong with worrying about your friends laddie," Tass said. "Let me see if your little Dalish friend out there has found any armor to his liking. You and I can settle the bill once yer done." He said this to Cailan before walking out to the front of the store. Atreyu chuckled and followed after the half Dwarf.

"Yes… well… I'll just leave you to getting redressed," Alistair said then hurried out after them. Cailan chuckled softly then started to pull the armor off the stand. Once he was dressed in it, he smiled pleased at how it fitted. Seeing a mirror in the corner Cailan walked over and peered into it, happy with what he saw. The armor made him look like a dashing hero, a line of thinking that he knew he had to stop thinking of. The battle with the Darkspawn had driven home that this wasn't a game; it wasn't one of his fantasies from his childhood when he heard the tales of his mother and father's heroics. He sobered at that and frowned, the betrayal of Loghain had driven home a lot of things for him. He had his suspicions about Loghain, gut feelings that grew stronger as the weeks went on but he had ignored them.

Cailan wish he knew why his father-in-law did what he did. And hopefully he would soon have a chance to question the man himself… depending on what was going on in his kingdom. If Loghain really meant to have him dead then Cailan was not safe showing himself at the moment. Ugh, his thoughts were just running around in circles. He did learn a couple of things from this experience though, that he couldn't blindly trust certain people and that he needed to listen to his gut more. His gut told him he could trust his brother and the two Wardens for sure. And he in turn would trust Atreyu's judge of character of people such as Morrigan. For anyone else… well they would see.

Turning his attention back to the mirror, this time Cailan studied his face as he put on the helmet. He turned his head side to side, smiling just a bit, the helmet did a good job of covering his face and his new scars had altered his looks a bit as well. He rubbed his chin feeling the stubble there and wondered if he should grow a beard. Would that make him look too much like his father Maric? He also saw his golden blond hair flowing from under the edges of the helmet, should he cut his hair as well? He was trying to change his appearance enough that people would not realize he was their king, to keep hidden from Loghain and any other enemies until he had a handle on what was going on.

Cailan removed his new helmet and looked again in the mirror, if he cut his hair short he would no doubt look more like Alistair, just with a lighter shade of blond hair. He tapped his fingers on the top of the helmet, that Alistair was also a son of the former king was not well known. Maric had done a thorough of a job as possible to hide his younger brother. His uncles knew Alistair was Maric's son of course as had Duncan. Outside of them, as far as Cailan knew no one knew for sure that Alistair was a Theirin. As Alistair grew older it was clear he was of Theirin blood, that might be why the Revered Mother had refused to let Alistair go wanting someone of Theirin blood under the control of the Chantry. Thank the Maker for Duncan then if that was true.

Loghain didn't know of Alistair, not until the army had gathered here at Ostagar. Cailan's father-in-law had never see Alistair before then, what little he had heard of Alistair had been that he was Eamon's charge and that he may be the man's bastard son, not Maric's. Loghain didn't ever visit Redcliff because of his uncle's wife Isolde as she was Orlesian and Loghain hated Orleasians. So to say Loghain had been a bit on the angry side was a bit of an understatement though he had never let anyone but Cailan see it. Cailan had pretended that he hadn't know what Loghain was talking about but even without his own input, Loghain had correctly guessed that Fiona was Alistair's mother… of course he hadn't called Fiona by her name, just 'that Orlesian woman' under his breath.

Decided, Cailan turned and went over to the door calling out to his brother.

"Something wrong?" Alistair asked, glancing Cailan over. "Hmm, armor looks better than I thought. The half Dwarf does really good work."

"That he does," Cailan agreed in an admiring tone as he ran his hand over the breast plate. "I need you to cut my hair, something more like how yours is now." Alistair blinked, that wasn't the sort of request he had been expecting.

"I'm sorry, what?" he asked. When Cailan repeated his request Alistair gave him a confused look. "Why?"

"Father and Uncle Eamon did a fairly good job of hiding you," Cailan said. "While it is clear that you are related to me when we are standing side by side, most still believe you are Uncle Eamon's bastard son and those who don't believe that at most they might believe you are a cousin perhaps? A lot of our family was lost during the years that the Orleasians ruled over us, who's to say you're not a distant relative. I think very few people jump on the idea that you are the son of Maric."

"Okay, but what does that have to do with cutting your hair?" Alistair asked. He had never given much thought as to how people saw him, he pretty much kept hidden he was related to the royal family at all though now that he and Cailan were getting to know each other he suppose he was going to have to start acknowledging it if they survived the Blight.

"Well, who's to say that you're the only relative to the Theirin bloodline?" Cailan said with a little grin. "I bet I could pass as your twin or an unknown cousin, one who worried about his only living relative and came looking for him and joined in on ending the Blight? I would only have to keep the ruse up until I know what is going on and retake the throne."

"Do you really think people would believe that?" Alistair asked. Cailan shrugged his shoulders slightly.

"Why wouldn't they?" He said. "It's not something we have to tell them, let people draw their own conclusions. Like when many people assumed you were Uncle Eamon's child, uncle didn't deny it right out so people just assumed did they not?"

"Yes… I guess you have a point," Alistair said. "Alright, it's your hair."

"Excellent," Cailan said as he took out a knife and handed it to his brother. Finding a chair to sit in, he winced a bit as his hair was sheared off until it was nearly as short as Alistair's. He had been proud of his hair, it had made him look very much like his hero father whom he had looked up to all his life. Once the hair was gone, Cailan's head felt a lot lighter. "This will get some getting use to; I have not had my hair this short since I was a young child." He said as he stood and walked over to the mirror. He marveled at how different he looked and how even more alike he and Alistair looked.

"Maker's breath, that is scary," Alistair mused as he looked at his and Cailan's reflections. Other than Alistair's darker hair, skin and his eyes that a copper-hazel color, he and Cailan looked scarily a lot alike. Cailan was turning his head again from side to side, studying his new look.

"Scary yes, but it should strengthen the ruse that I am a distant relative," he said in satisfaction. The scars changed the shape of his face slightly, the shorter hair made him look completely different and with a bit of facial hair, plus being hidden under the helmet when he could and not wearing the golden armor of the king, Cailan thought he had a fair chance of keeping hidden.

"You'll have to change your name as well," Alistair said. "Can't run around calling yourself 'Cailan'."

"Hmm, no you are correct," Cailan agreed. "Cal then? Tis close enough to my true name I should still respond." Alistair shrugged; it was surreal seeing his older brother and king like this.

"I don't see why it wouldn't work," Alistair said. Cailan smiled and nodded please.

"Well, shall we show them the brand new 'Cal' then?" He asked with a sweep of his hand as he picked up his helmet. Alistair laughed and led the way out into the front of the shop.


	10. Chapter 10

Wilder Wardens

Author: USA Tiger

Disclaimer: The Dragon Age series is the property of BioWare. The LOtR Elven language belongs to J. R. R. Tolkien.

Author Note: Ugh, it's been months since I updated on this. Not that I haven't been working on my fics but lately I've been a bit burned out on writing so I haven't posted a quickly as I was on stories. But nothing is abandoned, it's just taking longer to update.

Happy New Years everyone!

Thanks goes out to my beta and head minion Asilyessam who checks behind me for grammar and spelling mistakes and checks that my lore is correct.

Chapter 10

Somara pulled Raziel over to the displays of armors along one wall that were more fitted toward rouges.

"Wow," Raziel said as he looked them over, the armors were all lightweight and were stunning. A couple looked more like what some of the Dalish wore Raziel noticed but he skipped over those. He was starting his life on a new path and he wanted armor that didn't look like it was Dalish made.

"So you're a rouge and a hunter right?" Somara asked as she stood by Raziel's side. "So you're gonna want something really light weight but tough if you're going to fight those Darkspawn."

"What sort of armor do the hunters here wear?" Raziel asked curiously. Somara shook her head and crossed her arms over her chest.

"We don't, only if we go into a battle do we don any sort of armor. The village guards are the only one that wears armor when on duty," She explained. "We just wear our leathers." Raziel glanced at the short doe skin top that was sleeveless and showed her mid-drift and short skirt made also made of doe skin in two different shades. While he wouldn't wear that exact outfit, he did see where they would be comfortable.

Raziel crouched down in front of one of the shelves under a display to look at one set of armor. At the same time the tiny wolf puppy walked into the shop under the skin flap over the door and looked around. He gave a happy little yip when he saw Raziel and quickly ran over to the Elf, grabbing and tugging on the tattered edge of Raziel's leather armor with a little growl. Raziel blinked honey toned eyes and looked down.

"Ah! What are you doing here ma fen'falon?" Raziel asked as he picked up the wolf cub and stood up with the pup in his arms. The cub barked happily his little tail wagging as he licked Raziel's chin.

"Ahhh, how cute," Somara cooed. "He followed you."

"Shouldn't he be with his momma?" Raziel asked.

"I think he rather be with you," Somara said as she started petting the cub. "I think he's bonded with you."

"Bonded?" Raziel asked. "You mean like Atreyu and his wolf?"

"Yeah, I've got a bond wolf too," Somara said with a nod. "I had a hunch back where we met that he might have formed a bond with you but I wasn't sure."

"Isn't that a little dangerous?" Raziel asked worried. "I mean we're going to go fight Darkspawn, and he's so little."

"We can fashion a sling for you to carry him until he gets bigger," Somara suggested. "And you can train him on the road to fight. He's not going to leave you alone, he'll follow anywhere if he can. Now that he's bonded to you, he won't bond with anyone else. This makes you one of us for sure, Wilders bond with animals all the time, mostly wolves."

Raziel thought that over as he looked down at the pup. The pup's tail was wagging fiercely, making his whole body shake, and was looking up at Raziel with pure adoration. Raziel couldn't help but nuzzle the baby soft fur.

"Alright, I guess," he said as last. "I'll do my best to keep you safe while we're out on the road." The pup yipping happily and licked Raziel's face making him laugh.

"What's so funny?" Atreyu asked as he came out of the back room, his new staff fastened across his back.

"Look, one of the wolf cubs bonded with Raziel," Somara said with a grin. Atreyu laughed when he saw the black ball of fuzz in his younger friend's arms.

"So he has," he agreed as he came over and scratched the cub under the chin. "What are you going to call him fawn?"

"Hmmm…" Raziel took a moment to ponder the question. "How about Da'Fen?"

"Little wolf huh?" Atreyu said. "Well he sure is tiny, I bet he's going to be a fire ball when he's gets bigger."

"It… it's safe to bring him right?" Raziel said in worry.

"I don't think any of us is safe now," Atreyu said. "But we'll just have to be extra careful with this little guy." Raziel smiled and nuzzled Da'Fen who gave a happy yip then wiggled to get down. Raziel laughed and gently set him on the floor, Da'Fen shook himself then ran over to Falkor yipped and growling.

"Alright, let's find you that armor now," Somara said. Atreyu leaned back against a work table and watched as his two friends looked at the rouge style armors on display. Tass joined him at some point, the stocky half-dwarf crossing his arms over his chest. Alistair stood by the doorway until Cailan called him into the other room.

"Oh! What about this one?" Somara asked as she picked up one suit of light armor. It was made of a mix of light black and dark green leather of some kind that Raziel never seen before, also scaly looking but was thin. On top over where vital parts of his body would be were thicker patches of armor and some sort of gray metal. The thinner pieces of leather looked tattered but in a stylized way instead of it being from damage. There were also buckles along the sides and shoulder guards that held the pieces together.

"Wow," Raziel said as he examined the armor. "What sort of leather is this?" Tass walked over and gave the piece a quick look-over.

"That laddie is made from the shed skin of a black and green mage dragon, willingly given," he explained.

"What is a 'mage dragon'?" Raziel asked confused.

"A very rare species of dragon," Atreyu told him. "They have long skinny bodies almost like a snake but they have arms and legs. They have fur on their heads and the tips of their very long tails and some might even have fur on the back of their legs and along their back. Or they might have a crest along their back. And males have these long whiskers on either side of their snout and all of them have horns on their head that differ from dragon to dragon." Atreyu made a motion as if tracing the whiskers on his own face. "They have no wings yet they can fly."

"They're called mage dragons because they can use magic just like a mage," Somara added. "Well, not quite the same spells but something similar. And they have this really unique ability to change their size."

"Change their size?" Raziel asked confused.

"Yeah, they can be really small then make themselves really large," Atreyu said. "They're also called 'Elf dragons' sometimes because they usually bond themselves to elves or mages though it's rare. But it's not unusual for a few to live in the same village as Elves though they are pretty rare now."

"Their skin is pretty tough," Tass said as he handled the armor. "But highly flexible, I don't think you could do any better than this."

"I do like it," Raziel said with a smile. "Alright, I think this is my armor then."

"Good on ya laddie," Tass found the breeches, also made of mage dragon skin, and armored gloves that went with the armor. Raziel took the armor and started for the back of the shop only stop in surprise as Cailan and Alistair stepped out.

"Wow!" He said.

"Well, if it wasn't obvious you two were related before, it is now," Atreyu said as he took in Cailan's new look. "I don't think anyone will accuse you of being the king unless they got a really good look at you."

"Sort of the whole point isn't it?" Cailan said as he ran his fingers through his now short hair. "Pretending to be another person, we figured no one would notice much if we just call me 'Cal' when we're around other people. At the very least Loghain wouldn't expect it, I doubt he ever thought I would be clever enough to pull off something like this."

"I don't know Loghain personally but we've learned Ferelden's history in the tower, the stories always made him out to be very clever," Atreyu said.

"Loghain is quite clever," Cailan agreed. "But I doubt even he would have thought I would survive that massacre at Ostagar. It was only pure luck that the Ogre didn't crush me to bits giving Duncan enough time to get my arse moving. Even then I doubt I would have made it if Morrigan's mother hadn't swooped down at the last minute to save me."

"Alright, I suppose not even Loghain could have foreseen those odds," Atreyu agreed. Raziel slipped into the back as they talked and returned a few minutes later redressed in the armor he chose. It fit him perfectly, the armor sleeveless but the armored fingerless gloves going just past his elbows. The breeches were also designed with Elves in mind with a hook at the end of the legs to wrap around the middle of his feet leaving the ball and heel of his feet free in the style most Elves preferred.

"I really like this armor," he said smiling as he ran his hands over the smooth feeling leather.

"It looks good on your fawn," Atreyu agreed. "Darkspawn, and whatever else we face out there, will have a harder time hurting you." Raziel beamed happily and picked up Da'fen as the yappy wolf cub pawed at his feet. Cailan walked over to the other side of the shop and started looking over the swords and shields, looking for what might fit his new image. Raziel was drawn over to the daggers and saw a pair displayed on a rack.

"Ah laddie, those be Naru'carak and Khelek'carak," Tass said as he noticed what Raziel was looking at. Raziel rolled the names around in his head but didn't recognize the Elvish words.

"What does that mean?" He asked as he placed Da'fen by his feet and picked up the daggers. They were wicked looking with black hilts and guards, a golden emblem that looked vaguely like a wolf's head and the blades hooked along the sides right below the guard and right above the point of the blade, the points of the hooks pointed at each other. The different between the two daggers were down the middle of the blade was a red stripe on one and a blue stripe on the other.

"It means 'Fire fang' and 'Ice fang'. See these?" Tass pointed at Elvish writing within the colored strips. "These are runes, hold them out as if you're attacking." Raziel looked confused but did as Tass requested and pretended that he was attacking a Darkspawn with the blade Tass called Naru'carak. He yelped as it busted into flame then held the dagger in front of him.

"Wow," Raziel said impressed.

"So it's a fire rune?" Alistair asked as he had been watching.

"Yes, but unlike Dwarven runes or spells these only become active when used," Tass said. "When they're not needed…" He nodded toward the dagger and they watched the fire die off with little whisps of smoke left in its wake, "they become abeyant again. Dwarven runes stay active the while time while Elven runes will activate only when needed. I prefer to use Dwarven runes on armors and Elven runes on weapons."

"That's pretty clever," Alistair mused.

"Neat!" Raziel said then held up the other. "So this one uses ice then?"

"That's correct laddie," Tass said nodded with a grin. Raziel grinned back and decided to buy the twin blades, strapping them on as soon as they were paid for. Cailan also chose his new weapons, a sword with a few runes in the blade near the hilt and a round iron shield with no design on it. It was plain looking and wouldn't stand out, which was like everything else was the point.

"Strange to carry a shield that doesn't have the royal emblem on it," Cailan said as he paid and they walked out. "But freeing at the same time. I guess I've never grown out of my want of an adventure, not really."

"I can't see much else to get," Atreyu said. "Food, other basic supplies. Hmm, should pick up some extra clothing as well."

"We can get that in Lothering at least," Alistair said. "I don't suppose any one here would make it in our sizes."

"No, not really. We don't sell outside of the village, though I know some trading goes on with the Wilder Folk tribes," Atreyu agreed then wrapped his arm around Raziel's shoulders. "But we can get something for us so you don't have to wear armor all the time at least. You two have fun exploring the village more." Raziel laughed softly and Somara grinned as she looped her arm with Atreyu's free one, the three Elves walking off.

"Well, I think we've just been dismissed," Cailan said laughing.

"Right, well, I'm going back to that tavern," Alistair said turning on his heel. "I could use an ale after all this. You coming?"

"Soon, I do want to see more," Cailan said. "This is a beautiful village and maybe I can get ideas how to improve the lives of my Elven citizens." Alistair looked around the Elven village, he supposed he could see what Cailan was getting at. The Elven Alienages were generally horrible, he had been to the one in Redcliffe a few times when he lived with the Arl still. It hadn't been too bad, run down quite a bit and hidden under the cliff by the village but he heard of worse. The biggest problem the alienage there had was flooding if he remembered, Eamon was at least kind to his Elven citizens. Alistair had heard that the alienage in Highever was the best within the whole of Ferelden, the Couslands took very good care of their Elves and their part of the city looked very much like the rest, while Denerim's was one of the worst. Which was pretty bad when you considered that Denerim was the capital city of Ferelden, you would think it would have the nicest alienage. And this was just in Ferelden, Alistair had no idea what the Elven Alienages were like in other counties.

"Well, have fun with that," Alistair said and headed toward the tavern. If they were staying the night, he was going to partake in some ale… and cheese if they had any. Cailan gave a small wave to his younger brother then headed out to fully explore.

* * *

Cailan couldn't help but marvel over the village, he wondered if this was what the Dales were like before the Chantry invaded and took them away from the Elves. He had visited the library, the young looking Elven man, though it was impossible to tell how young the other had truly been, had nearly gushed and begged Cailan when he had the time to tell him about his father's adventures when he freed Ferelden and took back the throne from the Orlesian Empire for their history books or at least give the memory to the Lore Keeper who kept any important history. The Elven man had half jokingly said the tale could be called 'The Stolen Throne' which Cailan thought had a bit of a nice ring to it. Loghain of course would be the one that the Elf should really talk to since he had been at the heart of it but considering how things were now, that wasn't a good idea.

There were statues everywhere as well of what Cailan could only guess were important Elven figures.

_'Whoever sculpted these has a very good eye,'_ the young king thought as he studied a statue of an Elven lass who was sitting on a tree stump playing a harp. There were statues of animals as well, nearby there was one of what could only be a Griffon. All the statues were surrounded by potted plants and benches were set close so those who wished to could rest their feet. Cailan smiled as he heard giggling behind him, some of the young Elfkits had taken to following the human king around, ducking out of sight every time he turned. He found the bold little tykes amusing, sometimes spinning around suddenly and sending them scattering with shrieks of laughter and yips from wolf pups filling the air. He spied some of the adults just roll their eyes and shake their heads with little smiles on their faces.

As Cailan wondered further into the gallery of statues one caught his eye. He stopped in front of it, studying it with his head tilted just slightly to the left. It took a moment to realize that it was a statue of a human woman instead of an Elven one. And something about her was so familiar, like he had seen her face someplace before…

"Beautiful, wasn't she?" Fen'ithil's voice said from his right. Cailan nearly jumped out of his skin and laughed as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"Maker's breath," he said. "Gave me a bit of a fright there."

"My apologies your grace," Fen'ithil said with a small incline of his head.

"You can call me Cailan if you wish," Cailan said. "I won't force you to stand on ceremony around me, Maker knows I get enough of that back in Denerim."

"You are the king of your people, but if you wish I will call you Cailan," Fen'ithil said. Cailan chuckled sadly and turned back to the statue.

"Not a very good king am I," he said. "I rather go on adventures than sit around all day listening to my court complain day in and day out. Anora had always been better at politics than I, I guess that makes her a better ruler."

"A leaders worth is not measured by just politics but what they are willing to give to their people. How they lead and how they take care of those in their charge," Fen'ithil said. Cailan snorted very softly and tapped his fingers on the helmet under his arm.

"I don't do a very good job of that either, you must be ashamed of how we treat your people," he said.

"I won't lie, how our cousins were and are treated doesn't make us want to let the outside world know we exist but at the same time we know there are both good and bad examples of your people," Fen'ithil said.

"I do want to change that. I hoped looking around your stunning village would give me ideas how to improve the life of those under my rule and protection," Cailan said. "My hope is that one day the Elves that live in the city aren't forced to be second class to the humans, that one day we can live as equals."

"A worthy goal, one I would like to see myself. We would all like for all of Elvhen to be one again instead of separated by titles like City and Dalish and Wilder," the shaman said then sighed softly. "But I believe that is still a long way in coming. You had a sad look on your face when you mentioned this Anora."

"Anora…" Cailan frowned slightly to himself. "I don't know how much she is involved with what her father had done. I would like to believe that she is innocent, that like myself she is a victim but I know Anora, she can be just as crafty and clever as her father. I am worried that she planned on my death. I don't like to think this way, I had never believed _Loghain_ would have quit the field and leave all those men and woman to die. To leave me to die, he doesn't believe this is a real Blight. He didn't trust the Gray Wardens and he just left… And on top of it all, I do not know if my wife is helping her father or if like me she is a victim."

Cailan sighed and rubbed his face tiredly. "Right now I know I can trust my brother and that I can trust your grandson. Those things I can feel in my gut and I trust them to know who is on our side during this trial."

"Your life had gone through quite the upheaval," Fen'ithil observed watching as Cailan nodded tiredly in agreement. "Da'len, everyone goes through trials. No one starts off as a great leader and only a fool would believe otherwise." He placed a hand on Cailan's shoulder in comfort. "Take what you learn on this journey, find out what you need to know and from there you will have the tools to become a wise ruler one day. One we could proudly call our ally and friend, one that your people, human and elf alike, can look up too."

"Thank you Fen'ithil, that does ease my heart some," Cailan said with the smallest of smiles. He looked again at the statue of the woman humming. "She really does look familiar… I've seen her somewhere before but where…" Cailan suddenly remembered another statue, one he had grown up seeing. A small Chantry chapel within the castle, within a statue of the Maker's bride with her hands held up in peace. "Is this… Andraste?"

"Yes it is," Fen'ithil agreed smiling as he gazed at the statue with Cailan. The statue of the prophet was like none Cailan had ever seen before. The statues at the Chantries had always depicted the Maker's bride as a gentle holy woman with her hands held up in prayer or holding some holy relic. On a rare occurrence once could be found with her holding a sword and shield, many forgot the woman had been a barbarian after all. Cailan had heard rumors that in the Tevinter Imperium Andraste was often depicted as a mage instead but the Chantry considered that blasphemy. This beautifully carved statue showed a powerful young woman, a warrior with a sword in one hand and her other hand held up with a burst of flame above it in the other, looking very much ready to strike down her enemy.

"You have her as both a warrior and a mage," Cailan said.

"She was what her people called a spell sword," Fen'ithil explained. "She twas a fine warrior, the pride of her people."

"You sound as if you knew her," Cailan marveled as he turned to the Elf. The afternoon light was shining off the shaman's snowy white hair setting a glow around the Elf. He smiled and turned his face slightly toward the young king.

"Oh yes, I knew her. So do many of the other elder Elves here in the village," he said. "She was the first human to ever grace our village and is still considered an Elven friend to this day."

"How did you know her?" Cailan asked fascinated. Everything knew about Andraste were from the tales passed down by the Chantry and they would always paint her in a good, holy light. Fen'ithil motioned to one of the benches for them to sit, Cailan eagerly doing so. He felt like he was sitting at Mother Ailis's knee again hearing the stories about his father and mother.

"Andraste had come to the south looking for aid against the Tevinters and to try to drive them out of what is now known as Ferelden. Ostagar fortress had been the Tevinters stronghold here in the south," Fen'ithil explained as he sat beside Cailan. "It was here not only to watch the southern clans but also to watch for us. They heard tales of Elves living in the Wilds and hoped to capture us to add to their slave pools. She had foolishly mounted an attack against the fortress and lost the battle."

Cailan's eyes widen, with all the stories about the Maker's bride and her crusade against the Tevinter Imperium, the very idea of Andraste losing any battle was unthinkable.

"After she lost her battle the Tevinters left her in the wilds with no weapons and only her magic to protect her. No doubt they hoped that the wild creatures here would have killed her. But luck was on her side and a group of our hunters found her instead," Fen'ithil continued his tale. "She had been in the wilds for days by then and twas weak from hunger and her injuries. The hunters took pity on her and brought her to our village. I was the one who healed her wounds and nursed her back to health." The shaman chuckled as he remembered those days. "When she awoke, she was quiet confused and attempted to attack me."

Cailan's mouth dropped open in surprise. "She what?" Fen'ithil's eyes shone in amusement.

"Well she had been fighting for her very life before then and woke up in a strange place. Plus there was a language barrier but as she calmed she realized that I meant her no harm," he said. "With a wee bit of magic we were able to quickly learn how to understand each other and she was enchanted by our village and our people. She got along very well with Chief Savah as both were warrior women and she became a very dear friend to our people. Some of our more outgoing hunters helped her gather allies among southern Alamarri tribes, those you now call the Chasind, and were able to once again attack and this time overtake Ostagar. And in time she was able to gather more people under her banner and swore to free our enslaved cousins, the rest you know as your own history."

"Did Andraste ever speak of the Maker?" Cailan asked curiously.

"She did mention a being she only referred to as her 'dear friend'," Fen'ithil said with a short nod. "But never did she try to convince us he was some sort of god or that we should worship him, she respected that we worship the old gods. I don't think she ever thought she would become the holy figure you see her as now."

"I wonder what she would think of the Chantry," Cailan said as he turned his gaze back to the statue of the fierce woman again.

"The way I remember her, she wouldn't like it," Fen'ithil said softly. "Nor would she like the way your people treat mine or how Mages are enslaved or hunted. She twas a mage as well after all. Magic is but a tool, much like a blade or a bow. A person with evil in their hearts can wield a weapon just as easily as one with goodness in theirs yet you do not lock up and treat a person less than they are because of what they _might_ do."

"I… hadn't thought of it that way," Cailan admitted. He now had much more on his mind that he did before, much to think on. "Thank you Fen'ithil, you've given me much to think on."

"I hope that at least some of my words have eased your burden," Fen'ithil said standing. "The gods knows you all will have many more trials ahead of you." He patted the young kings shoulder then walked away on silent feet, leaving Cailan to his own thoughts.

* * *

As night fell the village seemed to get into the swing of celebrating the return of their missing tribe mate. Music was played, people were dancing and it seemed like everyone in the village took time to greet not just Atreyu but Raziel as well, welcoming the young Dalish hunter into the tribe. Raziel had changed out of his new armor and into the clothing he had bought from the village's vendors. Some pieces he found reminded him of the clothing made and worn by the non-hunter Dalish but the rest was as different as could be. He had picked a couple of warmer tunics for when the weather turned colder otherwise he selected a few things that looked more in line with what the Wilders usually wore… though he wasn't brave enough to wear some of the more skimpy looking clothing that some Wilders preferred.

Now he was sitting beside Atreyu by the large bonfire that had been built since they arrived wearing a soft doe-skin top that had a v-shaped neckline to his chest showing off a bit of skin and was sleeveless and a pair of soft leather fur-lined pants. He wiggled his toes as they were warmed by the fire and laughed as the tiny boy sitting in his lap babbled to Da'fen. The toddler was one of Atreyu's cousins, the younger son of his uncle Rayek, who had been introduced as Fen'vhenan. The boy was highly curious and was sweet, he had walked right up to Raziel and wanted to be held by the Dalish Warden. Raziel couldn't say no even if he had wanted to and watched with a smile as Da'fen yipped and barked at Fen'vhenan. Fen'vhenan would nod sagely as if he understood every word then babble back.

Beside him Atreyu was speaking to his other cousin, Fen'vhenan's older brother Tolkin, who had been born right after Atreyu had been taken against his will to the nearest Circle of Magi. The boy was sitting at Atreyu's feet fascinated as Atreyu told him about some of his more mild adventures within the tower.

"Tis good to see your village in such high spirits," Morrigan said from behind them.

"Well they're always looking for a good excuse to party," Atreyu said with a laugh as he looked over his shoulder. "Who am I to say no to that?"

"Tis true," Morrigan agreed as she sat on the log on Atreyu's other side. "You are fitting in quite well I see," she said to Raziel with a tiny smile on her lips.

"I like it here," Raziel said while running his fingers though Fen'vhenan's curly white hair. "I've never seen so many Elves in one place except at the Arlathvhen."

"What's that?" Tolkin asked tilting his head to the side curiously.

"It's when all the Dalish clans come together to meet and the Keepers share all the lost Elven knowledge they found," Raziel said. "It only happens every 10 years and we meet in a different place each time to the shemlens don't find us. But even then, it is nothing like your village. The different clans prefer to stay within their own camps, we mostly speak to those camped near us."

"Why would you do that?" Tolkin asked. Raziel shrugged his shoulders.

"I don't know, we just do. The last meeting we had was a couple of years ago, I remember speaking to some of the Dalish from another clan including their First, but otherwise it was pretty boring," he said. He had mostly stuck with Tamlen and Merrill like he did most days, and other than Merrill wanting to meet and speak with Velanna the aforementioned First from the other clan. Raziel hadn't liked her all that much from what he remembered. "The Keepers would go nuts over this place… though some might look down on you especially over Fen'harel."

"Why would they do that? Fen'harel is a hero!" Tolkin exclaimed in shock.

"The Dalish seen the great wolf differently than us cub," Atreyu said as he ruffled his cousin's hair. "Remember, they don't know our kind's history as well as we do, they are still discovering what we already know so they think Fen'harel is a villain." Tolkin's nose wrinkled in disgust and he crossed his arms over his chest.

"That's stupid," he said.

"Stoopid!" Fen'vhenan agreed giggling. Raziel covered his mouth with a hand, grinning behind it, Atreyu's baby cousin was so cute!

"It's just how things are," Atreyu said with a shake of his head. "Sometimes people will not change their mind even when faced with the truth."

"Such as those idiots at the Chantry," Morrigan said mildly. "And their attack dogs."

"Eh, I don't like Templars in general but I can't say they are all bad," Atreyu said in a musing tone. "There is one at the tower, he's only been there a short time, named Cullen. He's pretty polite and treated the mages kindly even if he believes all that nonsense that the Chantry's teaches them about Mages. He even stopped another Templar from abusing a Mage quite a few times." Morrigan smirked at her friend.

"You sound as if you like this Cullen," she said. Atreyu shrugged his shoulders as he leaned back slightly.

"Well I won't lie, he is a good looking man," he said with a grin. "Very sexy if a bit nervous about blood mages and fade demons. But still, he was a decent man and I hope he'll stay that way. It would be a shame if he became like the others. Alistair isn't bad either." Morrigan scoffed at that and crossed her arms over her chest making Atreyu laugh. "Well he is."

"He is a buffoon," Morrigan said in a haughty tone.

"You're just mad he called you a 'sneaky witch thief'," Atreyu said poking Morrigan in the arm. Morrigan gave a huff of annoyance and turned her nose up. Atreyu and Raziel both laughed softly in amusement until Morrigan's lips finally quirked up into a very slight smile.

"He is still a buffoon," she said. "But I suppose we are stuck with him for now. I believe I will take my leave of you for the night my friends, we have a long journey in front of us."

"Night Morrigan," Raziel said.

"Nigh-nigh!" Fen'vhenan chirped waving his hand then yawned widely.

"Well if that isn't a sign that it's this da'len's bedtime I don't know what is," Rayek said as he joined the younger Elves.

"Da," Fen'vhenan said sleepily as he held his arms out. Raziel gently handed the elfkit over to his father, Fen'vhenan cuddling against Rayek's chest.

"Yes I know, you're tired," Rayek said with a gentle smile then glanced down at Tolkin. "You two cub, time for bed."

"Awww, dad…" Tolkin whined.

"No, you've both been allowed to stay up well past your bedtime to get to know your cousin," Rayek said. "But he and Raziel have to save the world and they need their rest just like you. There will be time for you to fully get to know your cousin and his friend in the future." Tolkin pouted then sighed and stood.

"Good night cousin," Atreyu said with a gentle smile.

"Night," Tolkin said waving at the older Elves.

"Do try to get some rest cubs," Rayek said. "I hate to know you're about to go back into fighting but it's better to be rested for that."

"Of course uncle," Atreyu said as he rubbed Falkor between the ears. "I don't think we'll be much longer anyway." Raziel nodded his head in agreement as he cuddled his sleepy Da'fen. Rayek nodded with a slight smile then guided his oldest son away from the fire. Atreyu sighed and drew one leg up, wrapping his arm around his leg and resting his chin on his knee. Raziel watched the older teen, petting Da'fen as the wolf cub snoozed in his arms.

"Are you alright lethallin?" He asked then snorted. "Creators, I seem to be asking you that a lot lately." Atreyu smiled and turned his head so his cheek was resting on his knee now and looking at Raziel, his crystal blue eyes glowing in the light like a cat's. Raziel's honey toned eyes had a matching glow.

"I am fine Fawn," Atreyu assured him. "Well… as fine as I can be. My soul sings with joy to be back home, to be back in my beloved woods and village. To see my grandparents and my uncle and aunt, to meet my little cousins." Raziel smiled, he could hear the truth in Atreyu's voice and felt glad for his for his new friend.

"I understand the feeling of being homesick," Raziel said. "The Dalish have no place to really call home but I still miss my clan. I am saddened to learn what I did about the Creators, and boy is that going to take some time to break my habit of seeing them as gods, but I still miss the people. Mostly I miss Merrill and Tamlen." His voice cracked a little as he said his vhenan's name. Atreyu reached over and held the other's shoulder.

"Don't give up hope Fawn," he said gently. "Your Tamlen needs you to hold onto that hope." Raziel gave Atreyu a watery smile.

"I know, but I just think of how sick I became and I only survived because of you and Duncan," he said. "The only way I could be saved was by becoming a Gray Warden. I don't even know where Tamlen is, if anyone has found him or if he's with those horrible Darkspawn or if he's dead-" the teen's words were cut off as Atreyu moved and pulled the younger Elf into a hug. Da'fen whined in protest as he was jostled out of his nap.

"Shhh lethallin," Atreyu said softly as he held Raziel. "I know it's heartbreaking not to know what is happening to your lifemate, that it's hurting you inside. But you need to be strong for him. I won't lie to you, your fears just might be true but you can't give up. When you find Tamlen, and I am sure you two will be back together again, you will need to be strong for him and to give him what he needs, no matter what that is." Raziel sniffed back tears, burying his face against the side of Atreyu's neck. He knew Atreyu was speaking the truth, but he was just so scared for Tamlen. They never got the chance to tell their clan to bugger off and go off on their own as bond mates. He may never get to tell Tamlen he loved him ever again, it hurt to think he might have lost the person he loved with all his heart. Atreyu rubbed Raziel's arms and back, Da'fen making little whining sounds as he licked his master's hand. "Come on Fawn, let's call it a night."

"Yeah…" Raziel said as he drew away from Atreyu's embrace, kissing the top of Da'fen's head then followed the silver hair Elf toward the houses lining the trees. He had agreed to stay with Atreyu in his old hut instead of sleeping at the Inn. Falkor yawned and shook his fur out as he stood then padded after his own master into the night.

* * *

"I don't like this," Tanis's voice said from Somara's left. She glanced over at her prince, or what pretty much equaled a prince in their culture, then turned her gaze back forward. Tanis's bond wolf Lobo and her bond wolf Ebony where sniffing and growling as they scouted the area. Somara, Tanis and several other hunters were in the Crossroads instead of joining the rest of their clan mates in celebrating the return of the Shaman's son.

"I don't either, how did Darkspawn figure out how to use the Eluvians?" Somara asked. The open beautiful landscape, at least beautiful to Elves, was marred by misshaped footprints and corruption from the Darkspawn that had come through the area. After some searching they had found the Eluvian that had tainted Raziel and his friend Tamlen, the wolves leading them there by the fading scent of the Darkspawn. The mirror was dark and cracked, meaning it was broken on the other side and disconnected from the Crossroads. "I didn't think they were that smart."

"From all the tales they're not, only the Archdemon is and seeing as they are always dragons, they can't travel through the Eluvians…" Tanis sighed and ran his hand through his hair as he watched the other hunters start using Elven runes to clean out the corruption from the Crossroads before it could spread. Somara carefully scouted the area Ebony close to her side, most of the footprints lead to the broken Eluvian but after a bit of looking…

"Tanis, there are two sets of footprints leading away from the site," she called over her shoulder. "And markings of something being dragged as well." Tanis quickly moved to her side to look as well. He knelt down but didn't touch the marks.

"Something… tall," he said. "And the other shorter, even a little heavier and stout. They must be Darkspawn but isn't that cute little Dalish's friend a male?"

"Yeah," Somara said nodding. "Why?"

"I'm wondering why these two Darkspawn would drag off a male Elf then, it's usually females that they capture to turn into Broodmothers," Tanis said as they followed the pattern in the dirt.

"Well we've already established that these Darkspawn are being unusual," Somara said. "But if they took Raziel's lifemate, then he should still be alive then right?"

"He was when he was taken," Tanis said. He stopped and squinted at something in the distance. "What's that?" He asked pointing. Somara's gaze turned to where the Chief's son was pointing and looked, tilting her head to the side.

"Let's get a closer look," she said and moved toward the object, Tanis and their wolves on her heels. The something turned out to be a bow made of ironbark, a finely crafted one at that. Maybe not as finely crafted as one Tass might make but then again the Wilders were bias on that. "Well… I can only assume this is Raziel lifemate's bow since it's not a Wilder's design so at least we'll have something to bring back to him."

"I wish we could have found his friend instead," Tanis said with a sigh. The bow was checked over and cleaned but they found nothing else within the Crossroads. Tanis turned to the other hunters. "Finish cleaning the area, shut off whatever Eluvians the Darkspawn were using before they taint the other nearby mirrors, destroy them if you have to. And do a sweep to make sure there are no more of those creatures here." The hunters bowed their heads in understanding. "Come on, we might be able to eat a little bit of the feast at least," he said to Somara. Somara sighed softly, she had hoped she would have better news for Raziel but this was the best they could do.

* * *

Atreyu woke up in stages, the early morning sunlight filtering through the window and into his eyes. He groaned, arched his back stretching then sat up rubbing his face. He looked around for a moment, not quite knowing just where he was, it didn't look like the tower, until his brain started working and the memories came back. He left out a soft laugh and fell back onto the bed with a small little smile. He was _home_. A soft sound caught his attention and he turned his head seeing Raziel sleeping on the other side of the bed that once belonged to his mother and father. Da'fen, Raziel's tiny bond wolf, slept cuddled against Raziel's neck and shoulder like a little scarf. Raziel had one hand curled over Da'fen's back protectively.

Atreyu turned his head to look up at the ceiling of his father's room, his room now he supposed, and just soaked up the energy and memories. Oh how he didn't want to leave, he wanted to stay home, renew his bonds with his tribe and his family. He was so tempted to say fuck the rest of the world and convince Raziel to do the same, to live here safe and sound. That was just a dream of course, as long as the Blight was going on and Darkspawn roamed the surface, not even the Wilder's woods were safe though they had made up a lot of good defenses against the Darkspawn over time. Nor could he ignore the duty as a Gray Warden that fell on him, at least not while the Blight was on-going. Afterward, and if he survived this whole mess, Atreyu would see about returning to his true home.

For now, Atreyu had something else he wanted to do before they left. Sighing as he pushed back the warm furs on the bed, Atreyu made himself get up and pulled on his leathers from the day before then left his hair out of the messy braid it was in so he could finger comb it and re-braid it into a neat rope.

"Atreyu?" Raziel said sleepily from the bed. Atreyu glanced over his shoulder and smothered a laugh; Raziel was sitting up, his hair a mess and looking like a disgruntled kitten. If he hadn't seen the younger Elf fight, you would never know that the adorable teen was a deadly fighter.

"Sorry Fawn, didn't mean to wake you up," Atreyu apologized as he finished braiding his hair.

"It's alright, I am usually up early for chores and to hunt," Raziel said assuring his older friend. "Where are you going?"

"I have… something… I want to do before we leave the village," Atreyu said softly, glancing down at his feet. Falkor yawned widely as he woke and hopped off the bed, nudging his head under his master's hand. Atreyu ran his hand over Falkor's fur and scratched behind his ears.

"Oh… it's private then?" Raziel asked. "I can wait here if you want."

"Well, no… not completely private," Atreyu assured him. "I'm not sure what the Dalish do with their dead."

"Oh, well after they go through their death rites we bury them and plant a tree over their grave," Raziel said deciding not to go into too much detail unless Atreyu asked.

"Hmm," Atreyu nodded his head slightly. "Certainly different. Well, you can come and see what I'm going to do with you want."

"What are you going to do?" Raziel asked as he climbed off the bed, setting Da'fen on a pillow then started to dress in his new armor. Da'fen yawned and made a sleepy yipping sound.

"I'll explain when we get there," Atreyu assured the younger Elf. Soon both were dressed and out of the hut.

* * *

Atreyu lead Raziel out of the village and into the surrounding forest, down a well worn path that wound around the trees. Raziel could feel a sort of… energy on the air. The trees were… different somehow.

"What are we doing?" He asked the older teen after a few minutes.

"Remember how you said the Dalish bury their dead with a tree?" Atreyu asked then continued as Raziel nodded. "Well we have a different tradition, when a Wilder babe is born, a tree is planted here in the forest. It is believed that these trees bond with our soul, thus we call them Soul Trees. When a Wilder dies, we burn our dead and spread the ashes at the base of our Soul Tree."

"Why would you do that!?" Raziel asked with wide honey eyes. "Isn't burning a body a Shemlen thing?"

"We do this because of Falon'din," Atreyu explained. "He was a necromancer and he would raise the bodies of the fallen for his own personal army." Raziel gasped in horror. "Yes, that is pretty much our reaction as well so our ancestors started burning the dead instead of burying them so they can properly rest. I guess it doesn't matter as much now, Falon'din and the others are gone so the dead are safe. But there is always the possibility he and the other Evanuris, if they are still alive, can return."

"Creators… I have never thought…" Raziel sighed. He kept learning such horrible things about the Elves the Dalish called Gods. "So… is Soul Trees something from Arlathan then?" he asked changing the subject.

"Nope!" Atreyu said grinning. He stopped by a tree that was tall yet was not as mighty looking at the surrounding trees. The silver haired Warden smiled fondly as he placed his hand on the bark. "It is something our people started after Arlathan's fall. The Centaurs were the ones to show us the Soul Trees and we picked it up from them. Those who left Arlathan kept some of the old ways from our ancestors but at the same time we forged our own path. It is good to know your past but it is not required to live it, in time races change. No doubt those from the height of Arlathan's rule were different from our ancestors that first came to this land. That's just the way things are."

"I guess I've never thought of it that way," Raziel said softly. "The Keepers and the Clans are always looking for anything from our people, to try and be like them. And knowing certain truths now…" He sighed softly and wrapped his arms around himself. Atreyu stepped away from his Soul Tree and wrapped an arm around Raziel's shoulder.

"Do not dwell on it Fawn," he said. "The past is the past, learn from it but forge your own future. Do what feels right to you."

"Yeah…" Raziel looked up at Atreyu and smiled. "Yeah okay. I'll try to remember that. So, did you bring me there to see the trees?"

"Well one reason, but there's something I want to do. Come on, this way," Atreyu said and lead Raziel down the path once again with their wolves following close behind.


End file.
